Accused make 1st Berbice court appearance amidst protests

Five of the six accused in the Corentyne carpenter murder appeared at the Springlands Magistrate’s Court on Thursday amidst a protest demonstration by villagers calling for justice.

Scores or Corentyne residents of Number 70 Village including family of the dead man Faiyaz Narinedatt, 28, held placards outside of the court as the men arrived to make their first court appearance in Berbice.
They were quickly led inside as a few persons called them murderers.
Number one accused Marcus Bisram was absent. The other five: Orlando Dookie, Radesh Motie, Diadath Datt, Harripaul Parsram, and Niran Yacoob were present.
Assistant Superintendent of Police Stephen Telford told Magistrate Charlyn Artiga that he has been appointed as prosecutor for the trial. He asked for the matter to be adjourned until January 16 so that he can get himself acquainted with the facts.
Attorney Mescaline Bacchus representing the five accused argued that the men were initially charged two weeks ago and the Police should have all the facts before implementing the charges. Bacchus urged the court to bring forward the date by ten days.

However, Telford argued that the matter started one way but has changed and the Police need time to investigate new evidence which has surfaced. He said the Police are still working on the new evidence and will need some more time before they are ready to begin the preliminary inquiry.
The court ruled that 16 January was adequate time for the prosecution to be ready.
Meanwhile, Attorney Sanjeev Datadin who is representing Dookie and Motie asked for a copy of the Police file, noting that at the first hearing of the trial, the court had ruled that the prosecution must present the defence with a copy of the file and make a discloser.
Telford said he was unaware of this but promised to comply on or before the next court hearing.
Attorney Bernard DeSilva also entered an appearance for Motie.
Addressing the issue of the absence of Bisram, Telford told the court that legal steps are being taken to get Bisram to attend court. He said the number one accused is currently out of the jurisdiction.
When the matter comes up again the prosecution will be expected to present a progress report.
Bisram, Dookie, Motie, Datt, Parsram, and Yacoob are accused of killing Narinedatt between October 31 and November 1, 2016, at Number 70 Village.
It had been reported that the carpenter’s body was discovered along the Corentyne Highway at Number 70 Village on November 1, at a scene which appeared to be that of a hit-and-run accident.
The Major Crime Unite got involved in the investigations and a Sergeant and a Corporal attached to the Springlands CID were put under close arrest. They are still being investigated.
As the investigations continue a Deputy Superintendent of Police has been transferred out of the division. (Andrew Carmichael)