Recaptured prisoner’s attempted murder trial
– defence disputes quality of Police investigation
By Shemuel Fanfair
The trial of Stafrei Alexander for the attempted murder of fellow Laing Avenue resident Curtis Thom continued before Justice Brassington Reynolds at the Demerara High Court, where the defence sought to discredit the quality of the investigation, accusing the Police of not pursuing other possible suspects.
The prosecution’s case is that on March 23, 2015 at Lot 138 Laing Avenue, Georgetown, Alexander discharged a loaded firearm in a bid to murder Curtis Thom, who was shot hours after his daughter’s christening.
At the hearing late last week, Attorney for the accused, Stanley Moore, SC, grilled Police Corporal Rawle Bacchus on why he did not act on information obtained that a male, apart from the main suspect, was seen “in the passageway” on the day of the shooting, which occurred in the early morning hours. Bacchus was stationed at the East Ruimveldt Police Outpost at the time of the shooting and was the principal investigator of the attempted murder allegation.
Moore asked Corporal Bacchus whether or not the Police had a duty to pursue fairness when investigating crimes to which the witness responded in the affirmative.
However, as the cross-examination continued, the 12-member jury heard Bacchus saying that he acted on the information which the victim relayed to him while being in hospital, which was that Alexander was the perpetrator that shot him. However, Senior Counsel Moore referred to a section of the victim’s statement, which was taken by Bacchus, wherein Thom recalled seeing someone else nearby.
“I saw [an] East Indian male…standing in the eastern side of the passageway,” an excerpt from Thom’s statement noted.
Although a continuous back and forth ensued between the witness and defence counsel, Corporal Bacchus held out that Alexander was the positively identified suspect for which he was looking.
Pronoun usage takes centre stage
The Queen’s English or colloquial usage of the word ‘they’ was debated as to whether or not the pronoun was used in the singular or plural form. When Police interviewed the victim’s wife, Rhonda Thom, she recounted to Police that “they shoot him!” Attorney Moore insinuated that Corporal Bacchus was attempting to ‘re-write the English language’, but the Policeman concluded that in this context “they” was used in a singular context.
“In street talk, ‘they’ could be one person,” the Police witness stressed.
Shots fired from one gun – ballistics expert
Detective Sergeant Nigel Gravesande, who is a firearm and ballistics examiner stationed at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), testified that both gunshots, which were inflicted upon the victim, were fired from the same gun. Based on his examination of the bullet fragments, Sergeant Gravesande concluded that a .38 revolver was the firearm of choice on the night in question.
However, when the prosecution had presented its opening address on Tuesday, the jury was told that the weapon used was not found. Thom was shot twice and was hospitalised for seven weeks during which he underwent surgery to correct his injuries.
Alexander, the accused, is one of the infamous group of prisoners who fled the Camp Street penitentiary in the midst of an inferno earlier this year. He was apprehended in late July during a special operation in Berbice after being on the run. Previously, Alexander fled from lawful custody for six months before finally being recaptured at Kurupakari Crossing, Rupununi, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) in May 2016.
The State’s case is led by Lisa Cave in association with fellow prosecutors Shawnette Austin and Tiffini Lyken. The trial continues before Justice Reynolds on Tuesday at 09:30h.
