Jury empanelled for Laing Avenue murder trial

A 12-member jury was empanelled earlier this week to commence the trial of two men who are accused of fatally shooting another. Indicted for murder are former soldier Jermaine Jefford and Howard Rambarose.
Together, they are jointly charged with the August 1, 2016 murder of Laing Avenue, Georgetown taxi driver and former murder accused Orin David, called “Malik”.
Jeffers and Rambarose were arraigned before Justice Sandil Kissoon at the Demerara High Court. They pleaded not guilty to the murder charge. Their trial is expected to commence in the coming week. State Counsel Lisa Cave is presenting the case for the prosecution. Rambarose is being represented by Attorney-at-law George Thomas while Jefford has retained Senior Counsel Stanley Moore.
According to reports, David was shot dead in front of his Lot 89 Laing Avenue home, in the presence of his reputed wife and relatives. It was reported that David, a father of one, was shot following an argument stemming from the payment of debts.
Following a Preliminary Inquiry (PI) in 2017, Rambarose, called “Spleen”, and Jefford, called “Smokey”, were committed to stand trial for the offence before a Judge and jury. The Magistrate presiding over the PI had ruled that sufficient evidence had been presented to put them on trial.