Cop found guilty in 2021 fatal shooting of Dartmouth businessman

Police Constable Sherwin Peters was on Wednesday convicted of manslaughter by a jury for the unlawful killing of Dartmouth, Essequibo businessman Orin Boston, nearly four years after the incident occurred.
Appearing before Justice Sandil Kissoon at the High Court in Essequibo, Peters was found guilty following a trial that featured testimony from approximately 25 witnesses. He was remanded to prison and is scheduled to return for sentencing on July 10, 2025.

Closing addresses were made at the previous court hearing on Tuesday, bringing the trial to a critical stage. Magistrate Kissoon later set Wednesday to sum up the evidence to the jury, after which the case was handed over for deliberation on a verdict.
Constable Adrian Moore, a key prosecution witness and a member of the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU), took the stand when the trial commenced last week to provide a detailed account of the operation that led to Boston’s death. At the time of the incident, Moore was a member of the SWAT unit.
According to Moore, on September 14, 2021, he and approximately 10 other SWAT ranks received instructions from Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Gordon that they were to head to the Essequibo Coast for an anti-crime operation. He said the team was fully armed.
The CANU rank told the court that he was issued a primary weapon, an AR-15 with a torchlight attachment, and a secondary weapon, a Glock pistol.
According to him, the officers departed from the SWAT Unit at Police Headquarters, Eve Leary, Georgetown, to Parika, then on to Supenaam, and eventually arrived at the Guyana Police Force Training School in Suddie.
Upon arrival, Moore said ASP Gordon instructed them to remain “battle prepped” until further orders. The following day, he recalled instructions were given for raids to be conducted in multiple locations. Officers, Moore noted, were briefed on their rules of engagement.
“We were told of the firing orders, that you can only fire if you’re in serious danger and unable to defend yourself by any other means,” Moore testified.
Around 4:00 AM on September 15, 2021, the SWAT team arrived at a Dartmouth property containing two houses. The unit was divided into Alpha and Bravo teams, with Constable Adrian Moore assigned to Alpha. Moore used a battering ram to enter the first house, where several women were found, but nothing suspicious turned up. The team then moved to the second house.
It was revealed by the rank that inside the second building, Moore and another officer entered a room and found two children, whom they directed outside. Soon after, a loud explosion was heard. In the next room, Moore saw a man, later identified as 29-year-old Orin Boston, bleeding from the shoulder and lying partially on a bed. Constables Peters, Millington, and Lance Corporal Grenville were present in the room, and Peters was seen assisting the injured man.
The officer said Boston was transported to the Suddie Public Hospital, where the team later learnt he had died. Moore testified that no further injuries were inflicted during the transport.
The police reported that a confrontation led to Boston being shot during the operation, but his wife has denied that any such confrontation occurred.
According to the prosecution, led by State Counsel Latifah Elliot, Peters unlawfully shot Boston during the course of the raid. Peters, who chose to represent himself during the trial, was first charged in January 2022 and granted bail in the sum of $1 million.
The incident triggered widespread public outrage, particularly after Boston’s relatives disputed the police’s version of events.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, angry residents mounted roadblocks and lit debris in protest, demanding accountability for what many considered an unjustified killing.
An internal probe conducted by the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) was swiftly completed and sent to the Police Complaints Authority, chaired by retired Justice William Ramlall. The findings were later reviewed by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), who advised that manslaughter charges be instituted against the rank.
Peters was officially committed to stand trial in July 2022, nearly a year after the shooting. Wednesday’s unanimous verdict now paves the way for final sentencing next month.