Satram Kushlay and Bilall McLennon, both in their 30s, now await sentencing after a jury on Monday found them guilty of the murder of 49-year-old Lomenzo Johnny, a grocer of Rose Hall Town in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), which was committed on February 27, 2020.
Following hours of deliberation at the High Court in Berbice, the jury returned with its verdict, convicting these defendants of the capital offence.
Justice Sandil Kissoon, who presided over the trial, has deferred sentencing to February 20, following the presentation of probation and other social impact reports.
Attorneys-at-Law Kevin Morgan and Alaira Murphy-Goodman had represented the convicted men, while State Counsel Muntaz Ali had presented the case for the prosecution.
Johnny, called “Sham”, who operated a grocery store located in the yard where he lived, was murdered during the course or furtherance of a robbery. His body was discovered in a yard with a building under construction located some 400 metres from his home. His feet were bound together with a shoelace; the
sweater he was seen wearing the evening before was found a few feet away from his body; and a pair of scissors and a piece of wood were also found near the body. There was a wound to his back and bruises to his hand, while his head and face appeared to be swollen.
Justice Sandil Kissoon
When Police went to Johnny’s home, they found the front door unlocked. The inside of the house had been ransacked, and a safe and other items had reportedly been removed from the building.
Investigators subsequently received information about the whereabouts of the safe, which contained an undisclosed amount of cash.
The main suspect in Johnny’s murder, Daniel McLennon, is yet to be tried. And Gopaul Ramgobin and Navendra Narine have been charged with accessory after the fact. It is alleged that they received, comforted, relieved, maintained, harboured, and assisted
Kushlay and McLennon, knowing they had murdered Johnny.(G1)
