Accused freed of 2009 Soesdyke murder/hijacking

Aug 08, 2017 Features / Columnists, News

Murder accused Basil Morgan was yesterday acquitted of the charge related to the November 2009 hijacking and unlawful killing of Woddete Roberts.

Acquitted of murder: Basil Morgan

Roberts, called “Woddete” or “Buck Man,” was murdered sometime between November 3 and November 4, 2009. He was allegedly killed during a robbery.
It is alleged that a gang had hijacked Roberts and his two friends in a Tacoma pick-up Land Cruiser then took them along a trail on the Soesdyke-Linden Highway. Roberts’s friends managed to escape from the hijackers, but he was later found dead on a trail at Dora, Soesdyke-Linden Highway.
Morgan was said to be among a gang arrested and charged for the murder of Roberts. He faced a trial before Justice James Bovell-Drakes and a 12-member mixed jury at the Georgetown High Court. The trial commenced on July 15, last.
Earlier in the trial, Crime Scene photographer, Detective Desmond Johnny, tendered several photographs taken at a crime scene for a murder which took place in November 2009.
In his evidence, Detective Johnny provided the court with details of the crime scene of Woddete Roberts’ murder.
Johnny told the court that he went to a scene following reports of an alleged murder committed at Dora, Soesdyke-Linden Highway.
The detective said that he took photographic exposures of a crime scene. A total of 57 photographs were later tendered as part of the evidence provided to the court by Detective Johnny.
Spent shells allegedly collected from the crime scene were therefore tendered into evidence.
However yesterday, in his ruling on the case, Justice Bovell-Drakes concluded that after his review of the evidence presented in the trial, the Prosecution had failed to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt. Additionally, the Judge said that except for the driver of the pickup, Roopchand Gopaul, no other witness placed Morgan at the scene of the crime.
“No other witness could have testified to seeing this accused … No witness said that they saw this gentlemen at the scene of the crime. None,” the Judge declared.
Referring to the evidence present in the trial, Justice Bovell-Drakes asserted that “out of nothing cometh nothing.”
“The State has failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt,” Drakes reinforced.
In the circumstances, the Judge directed the jury to formally return a verdict of not guilty in relation to Morgan for the offence of murder.
“You are free to go,” he added
But before Justice Bovell-Drakes could finish his sentence, there were loud claps out of the gallery of the courtroom. The noise caused the Judge to admonish members of the public about behaving in a manner suitable for the courtroom.
Moments later, Morgan walked out of the courtroom; he had been freed of the murder charge. The accused will however remain in prison, since he is facing other charges in relation to crimes committed in 2009.
While leading his defence in the trial, Morgan had told the court that he neither killed nor had anything to do with the crime committed against Woddete Roberts.
He was represented by Attorneys Lyndon Amsterdam and Latoya Roberts. The State was represented by Attorneys Tuanna Hardy, Tomeika Clarke and Sita Bishundial.

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