Jury acquits man for Eccles stabbing

The trial of George Dover concluded at the High Court on Thursday when a 12-member jury panel acquitted him on two counts of attempted murder committed on fellow Eccles, East Bank Demerara (EBD) resident Kester Yamster on April 10, 2015 at Eccles.
Dover had always maintained that he was innocent of the allegations, and the jury, by way of its decision which came after two-and-a-half hours of deliberations, concurred with the contention of the former accused.
On first count of attempted murder, he was unanimously found not guilty but on the second count he was acquitted via a proportion of 10-2.
After he was freed, Justice Navindra Singh, who had presided over the trial, encouraged Dover to make more informed decisions in life, considering he is still a young man.
The State was represented by Abigail Gibbs, Tiffini Lyken and Shawnette Austin, and the defence team was led by attorney George Thomas, while Retired Rear Admiral Gary Best and Keisha Persaud had also appeared for the accused.
Dover had, on Wednesday, given an unsworn statement to the jury, denying he was the aggressor in the incident, and saying it was in fact Yamster who had approached him. The virtual complainant Yamster was only 15 at the time of the stabbing.
“He ask me what game you want play. He draw for something from he waist; he rush me and I hold onto he. We had a scuffle, he ease off of me and I run straight to Providence Police Station,” the former accused testified.
However, on Tuesday, the virtual complainant, Kester Yamster, had positively identified the defendant as the one who stabbed him at a plantain chip stand at Eccles. His story was that he clearly saw Dover’s face for about 10 seconds before he left the area in a northerly direction.
“I saw a shadow passing, and when I turned around to see who it was, I saw Mr. Dover; (he) came at me three times. He had a black handkerchief wrapped around his hand. He was coming to my chest; I feel a numbness in my chest,” Yamster told the court earlier this week.
According to Yamster’s story, he placed his hand on his chest and noticed that he was bleeding. Yamster, who lives about one corner away from where the incident had happened, said that after Dover had run off, he also ran, but to his parapet, where he sat in the presence of relatives before he lost consciousness. The next thing he remembered was waking up in a wheelchair at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC), where he was later treated for his injuries, and discharged a few days later.
Questioned by the Prosecution, Yamster admitted he had run-ins in the lead up to the night in question. He said he had confronted Dover over rumours that Dover had kissed his aunt. When he first heard those rumours, Yamster said, he had run home crying.
Further, he said he confronted Dover over money owed to him for a toque (headwear) that Dover got from him. Yamster said he told him it was used, and claimed that he opted to sell it because his father had said it made him look like a thief.