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Accused found guilty of killing Pike Street businessman
Travis Mc Dougall, a labourer from East Ruimveldt Housing Scheme, Georgetown was yesterday found guilty of killing Pike Street businessman, Ashok Raghoo.
Convicted: Travis Mc Dougall
He was convicted by a mixed 12-member jury at the Georgetown High Court around noon.
The jury took about three hours to return the verdict of not guilty in relation to murder and guilty for the charge of manslaughter. On the indictment of manslaughter, the jury returned a verdict of 10-2.
Mc Dougall was charged for the murder of dredge owner Ashok Raghoo in 2014. He was gunned down on Vlissengen Road following a robbery which was carried out by two men on a motorcycle.
The 43-year-old businessman had stopped at a traffic light on Vlissengen Road in the vicinity of the Botanical Gardens.
He was en route to downtown Georgetown to conduct business. The thug also shot the man’s wife, Shyrazadi Raghoo, snatched a bag containing some $4M and made good his escape. Mc Dougall was subsequently arrested and charged for the murder of Raghoo.
He was identified as the rider of the getaway motorcycle that was used in the robbery and murder. Another man, Jermaine Otto was identified as the shooter. He was also charged with murder. Otto, however perished in a fire which occurred at the Camp Street Prison, on March 3, last year
Mc Dougall was therefore the sole accused in the trial before Justice Navindra Singh at the Georgetown High Court.
Following a summary of the trial yesterday, the East Ruimveldt man was convicted for manslaughter. He was not sentenced however, because his counsel Nigel Hughes was not present to make final submissions on his behalf.
Attorney -at- law, Jed Vasconsellos, who entered an appearance on behalf of Hughes’ chambers, requested a probation report on behalf of the convicted killer. His request was acceded to by the judge; hence, the sentencing of Travis Mc Dougall was deferred to June 12.
During the trial, State Prosecutors Tuanna Hardy and Siand Durjon called a number of witnesses to the stand among them the wife of the deceased, Shyrazadi Raghoo.
During her emotional testimony, Raghoo had maintained she had seen the faces of the men, who robbed and fatally shot her husband.
But McDougall in his defence told the court that he was nowhere near Vlissengen Road on August 18, 2014.
The accused told the court that he left his residence in East Ruimveldt and went to the Jialing store.
He recounted that he went to the store with his girlfriend and two other friends and then returned home, where he remained all day.
He said the next day; the police came to his house, kicked down the door and arrested him for the murder.
The accused called at least two witnesses to his defence. Both witnesses testified that they had accompanied the accused and two others to Jailing store around 10:00 am on August 18, 2014.
They said that they returned home shortly after and Mc Dougall went to sleep in his apartment.
However, when questioned by the Prosecutor, none of the witnesses could give an account for the whereabouts of the accused between 11:00 am and 15:00 hours on the day of the shooting.
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