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Casino robbery trial… One walks free, two to lead defence
From left: Andre Blackman, Junior Stuart (freed) and Wayne Griffith
Two of the three men charged with a multimillion-dollar robbery at the Princess Casino on April 29, 2016, were yesterday told by a City Magistrate that sufficient evidence was led against them and they will be called upon to lead their defence in the matter.
Wayne Griffith, 29, of Bagotville, West Bank Demerara and Andre Blackman, 35, of Middle Street, McDoom, East Bank Demerara were informed by Principal Magistrate Judy Latchman that they will have to lead defence in the matter on November 19. She is also expected to rule in the matter the same day.
However the number three defendant, Junior Stuart, 30, of Thomas Street, Kitty, Georgetown, walked out the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts a free man after the Magistrate ruled that insufficient evidence was led against him by the Prosecution team.
The men are accused of robbing Daniel Roberts and Alfea Gajadhar of $8,951,000 – property of the Princess Casino.
Magistrate Latchman in her ruling yesterday told the court that she found no evidence against Stuart for him to lead a defence in the matter; hence he was free to leave.
However she ruled that sufficient evidence was lead by the Prosecution team in relation to Griffith and Blackman, and she found that a prima facie case was established against the two.
This ruling by the Magistrate comes days after Police Prosecutor Shellon Daniels made final submissions, stating that she was of the opinion that a prima facie case had been made out against all three men for the offence.
The Prosecution throughout the trial had called a total of 56 witnesses to testify on behalf of the state.
According to police, four men arrived at the Ramada Princess Hotel in a white motorcar bearing a fake number plate.
They were armed with guns and entered the Princess Casino, discharging several rounds in the process.
They relieved a security guard of his shotgun and ordered patrons and staffers to lie on the ground. It was reported that the gunmen held a cashier at gunpoint and made off with local and foreign currency.
Three of the bandits reportedly escaped on foot, while police were able to apprehend one of them who was reportedly trapped in the Casino. One of the men was reportedly arrested in a house a few days after the robbery with a large quantity of wet money and other valuables.
Another defendant, who was a former security guard at the Casino, allegedly provided the gunmen with vital information about the gambling spot’s operations.
During the ordeal, Police Lance Corporal Andrew Richardson and four hotel staffers sustained gunshot wounds.
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