Murder accused freed for lack of evidence

Timothy Charles – also known by the aliases Leon De Young and Howard De Jonge – on Thursday saw his murder charge dismissed in the New Amsterdam Magistrate’s Court when Magistrate Michelle Mathias upheld a no-case submission by his defence team, finding that the prosecution failed to present a prima facie case.

Charles had been charged in connection with the murder of Titus Sutton, which occurred in 2013 at Baracara, Canje River.
On November 8, 2013, the 53-year-old Sutton, of Melanie Damishana, East Coast Demerara (ECD), was shot once in his chest. His business partner, 34-year-old Sherwin McAlmont, was shot and wounded in his right thigh during that incident. It had been reported at the time that Sutton was allegedly involved in an argument with De Yonge when he was shot.
A wanted bulletin was subsequently issued for De Yonge in January 2014 and then again in November 2018. De Yonge was arrested in Baracara in April 2024.
At the time of his arrest, Charles was also charged with possession of ammunition, but that charge was dismissed several months ago, also due to prosecutorial shortcomings in establishing a sufficient case to proceed.
On Thursday, the murder charge was discharged, following submissions by the defence.
Charles was represented by Attorneys Charlyn Artiga, Tiffany Parris, and Akim Lampkin.
The defence argued that the prosecution failed to produce evidence of a murder weapon and had no witnesses to link the accused to the offence.
Additionally, the defence submitted that the circumstances of Charles’ arrest offered no substantive proof of his involvement in the alleged crime.
The court ruled that in its submissions, the prosecution failed to make out a case, and the accused was freed.