Supermarket attacker pleads guilty to attempt murder

– sentencing set for March 31

Leon Bishop, also called “Osmon Ali”, pleaded guilty to attempted murder on Wednesday when he appeared before acting Chief Justice Navindra Singh in the High Court in Demerara.
Following the plea, Justice Singh ordered that a probation report be prepared along with a presentence report from prison authorities. The reports are to be submitted to the court by March 25. Sentencing is scheduled for March 31, 2026, at 09:00h.
It was reported that on June 17, 2019, Winston Small, a security officer, was performing duties at a supermarket in Goed Fortuin, West Bank Demerara (WBD), when Bishop entered the establishment.
Small reportedly approached him after noticing that he was behaving in an unusual manner.
Bishop reportedly told Small that he was being chased by a man with a gun; however, no such person was observed. Bishop then began knocking items off shelves and attempted to exit through a side door.
Small intervened and attempted to restrain him, but Bishop ran towards the rear of the supermarket and later returned armed with an axe.
In retaliation, Small picked up a hatchet, and as Bishop advanced towards him, he dropped the hatchet and held onto the axe. During the commotion, Bishop reportedly dropped the axe, armed himself with a 22-inch cutlass, and began chopping at Small.
The security officer sustained multiple injuries to his right hand, left calf, left cheek, head, forehead, and left upper arm before losing consciousness.
Bishop fled the scene after committing the act. The injured Small was picked up and taken to West Demerara Regional Hospital (WDRH) and was transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he remained hospitalised for two weeks.
Police later contacted Bishop, during which he told Police that he was defending himself after being attacked by the security officer.
Meanwhile, a medical report in favour of Small detailed severe injuries, including deep facial lacerations, the complete severing of the third finger on the right hand, partial severing of two other fingers, and multiple deep wounds involving bone and tendon.
The attending doctor concluded that the injuries were life-threatening and would result in disability and disfigurement.