Former City Constabulary rank charged with killing man freed

A 55-year-old former Lance Corporal of the City Constabulary has been acquitted of the 2018 shooting incident that resulted in the death of a man.
Gregory Bascom, of Ruimveldt Housing Scheme, Georgetown, was freed on Friday after a trial at the Demerara High Court, with the Judge citing insufficient evidence to support the charges against him.
Bascom had been facing trial for manslaughter before Justice Priya Sewnarine-Beharry, and pleaded not guilty to the accusation that he unlawfully killed 34-year-old Marlon Fredericks on January 14, 2018, at Regent Road, Bourda.
Bascom’s defence team, including Attorney-at-Law Yuborn Allicock, made a compelling no-case submission, contending that the prosecution had failed to establish a coherent case against their client. Agreeing with the defence’s argument, Justice Sewnarine-Beharry directed the jury to return a formal verdict of not guilty.
The incident in question transpired outside the City Constabulary outpost on Regent Street, Georgetown, as reported by the Guyana Police Force.
Fredericks was shot by the City Constabulary Lance Corporal while attempting to flee from the outpost where he was detained on charges of simple larceny and assaulting a peace officer.

According to reports, a scuffle ensued between Fredericks and the Lance Corporal during an attempt to restrain the former, resulting in Fredericks breaking free and subsequently being shot once in the lower back by the Lance Corporal, who was armed with a service pistol.
Post-mortem examination findings confirmed that Fredericks sustained a gunshot wound to the back, with the bullet penetrating his lungs and exiting through the left side of his neck. Bascom was accused of utilising excessive force during the detainment process, a charge that ultimately did not stand in the face of the court’s scrutiny. (G9)