Accused proclaims innocence after jury finds him guilty

Agricola roadside robbery/murder

The weeks-long murder trial of Agricola native Jermaine Savory reached its conclusion on Wednesday evening, with the accused proclaiming his innocence after the 12 member-jury unanimously found him guilty of the shooting to death of Melissa Payne who was killed during the course of a robbery on November 5,

2008.
The State’s case was that Savory – in the company of at least one other person, allegedly murdered Payne after the woman and her reputed husband, John Fraser, had stopped at Agricola on their way to Georgetown in an effort to correct a mechanical fault of the Toyota Canter truck, GHH 5399, in which they were travelling.
The jury returned its verdict after three hours of deliberations during which further directions were requested. Just before 18:00h, Savory was found guilty and had a look of astonishment and disbelief, telling the Judge, “I’m innocent, I didn’t kill nobody.” Justice James Bovell-Drakes adjourned the matter to January 15, 2018, when the accused will be sentenced after his probation report is read to the court. After the verdict was handed down, Savory’s relatives were equally astonished at the jury’s decision and were heard murmuring as they left the court.
Reports back then were that while Fraser was attending to the vehicle around 08:30h that morning, armed bandits approached them. Fraser managed to escape, but Payne, from Den Amstel, West Coast Demerara, was eventually shot

after refusing to hand over her bag, which reportedly contained some $100,000 in cash and other valuables.
After she tried to escape with her handbag, the bandits had swiftly pursued her and opened fire; they then made off with the bag and her gold chain. Payne subsequently died while being transported to hospital.
Savory was represented by Attorney Maxwell McKay; while the Prosecutors for the State were Mandell Moore and Orinthia Schmidt.