Man accused of Brazilian miner’s murder appears in court

Aug 13, 2010 News

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The case of an argument that escalated into murder came before Magistrate Hazel Octive-Hamilton yesterday afternoon at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.
On August 7, the accused, Mark Thompson, was apparently involved in an altercation with Brazilian miner Jose Rodriguez De Oliviera at Aranka Backdam, Cuyuni River.
De Oliviera was subsequently killed and Thompson was detained.
When he appeared before the Magistrate yesterday he was told that he had been charged with murder and was not required to plead to the indictable offence.
Thompson’s case was subsequently transferred to the Bartica Magistrate’s Court.
Earlier reports on the murder indicated that the two men had apparently been drinking together at their mining camp when the disagreement occurred. De Oliviera allegedly attacked Thompson with a cutlass but was overpowered. Thompson then reportedly relieved De Oliviera of the cutlass and hacked him to death as he lay on the ground.
Thompson who was remanded without bail is set to make his next court appearance on September 29.
Meanwhile, Shawn Rampersaud appeared in the same court and was also remanded. His next court date is September 13. Rampersaud was charged with breaking and entering as well as simple larceny and was not required to enter a plea.
It is alleged that on Tuesday August 10, Rampersaud broke into a storeroom belonging to Lolita Bhomal and stole some twenty pairs of shoes valued at $50,000.
And 19-year-old Paul Mackenzie is accused of having similar intentions to Rampersaud’s but his item of choice is allegedly cell phones. Mackenzie is accused of stealing a phone valued at $25,000 from Antonio Da Silva on August 10.
It was disclosed that the young man has three similar offences pending in the Bartica Magistrate’s Court. Magistrate Octive -Hamilton remanded him to prison. This case was also transferred to Bartica, and will next be heard on August 16.
The busy day continued for Magistrate Octive-Hamilton when Chetram Gayodin stood before her to answer a charge of attempted murder.
It is alleged that on Wednesday August 4, Gayodin unlawfully and maliciously wounded Parbatie Gayodin with the intent to kill her at Leonora Pasture, on the West Coast of Demerara. Gayodin was not required to plead to the indictable offence, he was also unrepresented   in court.
Police Prosecutor Lionel Harvey objected to bail being granted to Gayodin and asked that the defendant be remanded. Harvey also requested that the matter be transferred to the Leonora Magistrate’s Court for trial.
Gayodin is expected to make his next court appearance on Monday September 6.
And an apparent ‘knack gah knack back’ mentality landed both Sandra Blair and Lennox Willing before Magistrate Octive-Hamilton yesterday.
Blair, of 35 First Street, Campbellville, was charged with assault and pleaded not guilty to the charge. According to Police Prosecutor Harvey, on Wednesday August 4, Blair allegedly assaulted Willing. The defendant made a request for bail and same was granted by the magistrate to the tune of $10,000. Her next court appearance is scheduled for September 17.
The virtual complainant in Blair’s case, Lennox Willing, was also charged with two counts of assault and one count of malicious damage to property. According to the Prosecutor, Willing reportedly assaulted Michella Blair and Sandra Blair on Wednesday, July 14, last. It is alleged that he also damaged a tank connection worth some $3,000, property of Sandra Blair, on the same day.
Willing pleaded not guilty to the charges and requested self-bail, but this was denied by the magistrate. Instead Willing was granted bail of $15,000 for the assault charges and another $15,000 for the malicious damage to property charge.  He is scheduled to return to court on September 17.

Kadir reserves right to appeal

Prior to his sentencing in mid-December, Abdul Kadir who recently was convicted on terrorism charges has signaled his intentions to reserve his right to appeal before the US Appellate Court. This was confirmed by one of his attorneys Tony Messina who dispatched a letter to trial Judge Dora Irizarry which stated that his client will not be making any post-verdict motions pursuant to the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.
Messina explained that, “The letter simply means we are reserving our right to appeal after sentence, in front of the appellate court, as opposed to this, the trial court.”
Kadir, who once served in Guyana’s parliament and was mayor of Linden, initially emerged as a secondary figure, one of several co-conspirators portrayed as facilitating the plot by providing advice and contacts. But in testifying in his own defence, he later opened himself to questions about whether he had spied for Iran.

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