Brazilian charged for murder of Guyanese miner

Deon Jonas, a Brazilian national, on Friday appeared before Principal Magistrate Faith McGusty charged with the murder of David Atkinson, a miner of Kuru Kuru, Soesdyke-Linden Highway.
The 23-year-old was not required to plead to the indictable charge which stated that on October 26, 2019, at Guana Sand Backdam, Cuyuni River, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), he murdered Atkinson.
As such, he was remanded to prison until February 13, 2020, and had his matter transferred to the Bartica Magistrate’s Court.
It was reported that on the day in question, Atkinson, along with two of his co-workers, went to their employer’s “washing down”, where they were seen partying.
According to Police, while Atkinson and his two colleagues were returning to their camp, the Brazilian man, who was in the company of another male alleged to be his stepfather, pointed a gun in their direction, threatening to shoot them.
However, Atkinson’s two friends claimed that they managed to grab the Brazilian and disarm him of the gun he was carrying. In the process, the other man fled the scene.
The trio reportedly took the suspect to their camp and handed over the firearm to their employer but the bandit managed to make good his escape while the men were distracted.
It was unclear how Atkinson became severely wounded but when investigators visited the camp, he was discovered alive, with an incised wound to his left wrist and multiple lacerations about his body.
Atkinson, before his death, told Police Officers that it was the Brazilian, who he identified by name, and the man’s stepfather who “chopped him up”.
Nevertheless, while being transported for medical attention, he succumbed to his injuries and was later pronounced dead on arrival at the Bartica Regional Hospital.