Jury acquits ‘Thug Life’ of attempted murder, wounding

Denellon Emanuel, also known as “Thug Life,” has been acquitted of attempted murder and wounding charges which stemmed from an incident that occurred on September 20, 2020, when he is alleged to have stabbed Nizam Khan, also known as “Ameer,” during a dispute at a Superbet shop.
The unanimous not-guilty verdicts were delivered by a 12-member jury in the courtroom of Justice Navindra Singh at the Demerara High Court on Tuesday, December 10. Jurors were shown video footage of the altercation as part of the evidence during the trial. After they had deliberated, the jury returned unanimous not-guilty verdicts on both the attempted murder charge and the alternative charge of felonious wounding.

Emanuel’s defense was led by attorney-at-law Kiswana Jefford of the law firm of Hughes, Fields, and Stoby, while the prosecution team comprised attorneys Muntaz Ali and Christopher Belfield.

RECAP
This trial was centered on a violent altercation that occurred at De Kinderen, West Coast Demerara (WCD) and resulted in charges being laid against Emanuel.
The prosecution alleged that tensions had flared when Khan, who had known Emanuel for about four years, had urinated in a drain outside Emanuel’s home.
Eyewitnesses testified that this had led to a heated argument, which later escalated at the Superbet shop, where Emanuel had reportedly brandished a ‘Rambo’-style knife and threatened to “tackle” Khan.
Khan had reportedly deflected an initial attack by using his bicycle, and had left the shop. However, Emanuel had allegedly stabbed Khan in the neck as he made his way home, the court had been told. Khan had been rushed to the Leonora Cottage Hospital before being transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he had undergone emergency surgery for what a doctor testified had been life-threatening injuries he had sustained.
Emanuel, however, had maintained his innocence in court, claiming he had acted in self-defense. In his caution statement to the police, Emanuel had admitted to stabbing Khan, but had provided a different account of the events that had led to him taking this course of action. He stated that the altercation began when Khan urinated in front of him and his daughter, leading to an argument. Later at the shop, Emanuel alleged, Khan choked him and attempted to stab him with a knife drawn from his waistband. Emanuel claimed he had managed to disarm Khan and used the knife to defend himself.