‘Picture Boy’ trial continues…Judge overrules no case submission

Oct 28, 2011 News

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By Latoya Giles

Justice Winston Patterson yesterday overruled a no case submission by Defence Counsel Lyndon Amsterdam, as the murder trial of Cyon Collier called ‘Picture Boy’ continued.
Collier is on trial for the murder of Chandrapaul Persaud called ‘Kero man’ at Non Pareil, East Coast Demerara, on September 30, 2006.
Amsterdam made a four-hour submission to the court, yesterday, and this was followed by a response from State Prosecutor Judith Gildharie-Mursalin, who listed reasons why the submission should not be upheld.
The submissions were done in the absence of the jury.
Justice Patterson subsequently overruled the submission by Amsterdam. Collier will now have to lead his defence, beginning today.
Government Pathologist Nehaul Singh was expected to give evidence yesterday, but he is still out of the jurisdiction. The prosecution was forced to close its case.

On the previous occasion, ballistics Expert Sergeant Eon Jackson was called to give his testimony.
According to Jackson the bullet which was removed from the victim’s body during the post mortem examination and handed over to him was discharged from the AK-47 assault rifle which was found with the accused.
Jackson testified about his qualifications, including Firearms and Ammunition training/examination courses in which he had participated.
The witness said he had given evidence in the Magistrates’ and High Courts of Guyana more than 250 times.
There was some objection by the defence with regards to Jackson testifying, but that was subsequently overruled.
In his evidence-in-chief, Jackson testified that on October 3, 2006, he received at the Ballistics Section at CID Headquarters, from Corporal Floyd Hosanna, a marked and sealed envelope containing two 7.62 x 39 fired casings.
Hosanna had testified earlier in the trial that he had retrieved the two fired casings from the verandah at the home of Persaud, at Non Pareil, on the night of September 30, 2006.
Jackson said that on October 3, 2006, he received from Sergeant Chabinauth Singh, a marked and sealed envelope containing one 7.62 x 39 fired bullets.
Singh had earlier testified that he was present during the autopsy of Persaud when Forensic Pathologist, Dr. Nehaul Singh had removed a warhead from Persaud’s body and handed it over to him (Singh).
Jackson said that on October 5, 2006, he received from Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Michael Kingston a marked and sealed parcel containing a 7.62 x 39 AK-47 assault rifle with a magazine and a marked and sealed envelope containing 13 7.62 x 39 rounds of ammunition.
The witness recounted that he discharged three of the rounds submitted to him from the AK-47 rifle and found the firearm to be in working order.
He then compared the three fired casings to the two submitted to him by Hosanna and found that all five casings bore the same firing pin impressions and striation marks in identical sequence.
Based on his findings, he formed the opinion that the two fired casings submitted to him by Hosanna were discharged in the AK-47 assault rifle submitted by Kingston.
ASP Michael Kingston, testified that he was with a party of policemen and army officials on October 5, 2006 at a house in Bachelor’s Adventure, East Coast Demerara, where he found Collier along with one AK 47 assault rifle and pistol handgun.
Floyd Hosanna, who is stationed at the Criminal Investigation Department’s Crime Unit, testified that he went to the scene to examine the body.
He described the clothes that Chandrapaul Persaud was wearing at the time of the incident.  He instructed police corporal Cleveland Brown to take photos of the crime scene.
Hosanna said that he was at the “crime scene” when he saw two spent shells on the verandah. The two spent shells were collected and sealed as evidence and handed over to ballistics expert Eon Jackson.
He (Hosanna) was cross examined by the defence about what he saw at the scene of the incident.
Sergeant Chabinauth Singh, meanwhile, testified that he went to the crime scene with a party of policemen, who were also at the scene. He said that he saw the body lying on the floor, and Persaud appeared to be dead. Singh said that he saw two 7.62×39 spent shells on the verandah floor.
After the body was photographed, it was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital where a doctor made the formal death pronouncement.
Singh told the court that on October 2, 2006, he witnessed a post mortem examination which was done by Government Pathologist Nehaul Singh. During the post mortem, Singh said that the doctor removed a bullet, which he took to the ballistics unit.
The post mortem report was tendered into evidence by Singh. Under cross examination the witness was questioned about certain facts pertaining to the post mortem.
Zaheem Isshack, retired Police Inspector William Pitt, the victim’s wife Bibi Isshack and the couple’s neighbor, Liloutie Dhanai, have all given evidence in the matter.

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