Riverview man not guilty of Oriley Small’s murder

Feb 12, 2019 News

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By Feona Morrison

Morris Prince breathed a sigh of relief yesterday afternoon when a 12-member mixed jury announced that he had been found not guilty of the March 19, 2016 murder of businessman, Oriley Small, who was shot about 10 times.
Prince, 33, whose last known address was given as Riverview, Ruimveldt, Georgetown had been on trial for the offence before Justice Navindra Singh at the High Court in Georgetown.
Small, 31, of Lot 2 Smyth Street, Georgetown was shot as he returned home after a night out at one of the city nightspots. He was pronounced dead at the Georgetown Public Hospital.
According to information, Small had just entered his yard through the front gate and was walking through a dark pathway at the side of the house to get to the back of the property when a man, dressed in a hooded T-shirt, confronted him.

There are reports that the father of one said, “Hey boy, move from deh” to the gunman, who then opened fire. Small reportedly tried to flee, but slipped and fell. It was reported that as Small lay on the ground, the hooded shooter stood above him and pumped several bullets into him.
The unanimous verdict was well received by relatives of Prince who sprung from their seats and began shouting “yes”. Their celebrations were immediately silenced by the court marshal who ordered everyone to remain silent.
Outside the courtroom, Prince who was crying, hugged and kissed his loved one. Relatives of the deceased appeared shocked after the verdict was delivered to a packed courtroom.
Prince was represented by Attorney-at-Law Mark Waldron, while the case for the State was presented by Prosecutors Tuana Harding, Teriq Mohamed and Abigail Gibbs.
During the trial, the prosecution called several witnesses including Detective Sergeant Rodwell Sarrabo, who said he assisted with investigations.
According to Sarrabo, on the day in question he was performing duties at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Brickdam Police Station, when he received certain information which caused him to contact Prince.
Sarrabo said that he was further tasked with putting an allegation to Prince which stated that he (Prince), while in the company of others, and armed with dangerous weapons, murdered Small. The police witness said that Prince was cautioned in accordance with the judge’s rule but denied any involvement and also declined to make a statement.
Under cross examination by Waldron, Sarrabo admitted that there were no eyewitnesses to the killing and that Small’s sister (Charlene Forde) had told investigators that she saw a man dressed in a ‘hoodie’ leaving the yard soon after she heard gunshots.
According to Sarrabo, the sister could not identify the man. Further, Sarrabo agreed with a suggestion put to him by Waldron that there was no evidence linking Prince to the crime since no gun was recovered.
Charlene Forde told the court that the day prior to his demise, her brother left his Lot 2 Smyth Street, Georgetown home for Rio Inn, where he had worked as a security guard. She said that she celebrated her birthday on March 19, 2016.

She said that in the wee hours of that morning, she was at home when her brother called her via phone for her to open the door.
According to the woman, this was something her brother would customarily do. The witness told the jurors that she was about to open the door when she heard rapid gunshots followed by her brother saying, “Aye boy aye.”
Further, in her testimony, the woman recalled that after her brother was shot, she saw a man about six feet two inches in height walking away. According to her, that individual was slimly built and was wearing a black ‘hoodie’, which had a marijuana leaf at the back.
The witnesses said that she was unable to get a good look at the man whom she suspected had shot her brother, since there was a boutique in the vicinity of her home which obstructed her view.
The witness however detailed that the shooter walked out of their yard. She said she later heard loud screams from her mother coming from the back of their yard and when she got there, she saw her brother lying face down with what appeared to be blood on his face.
Under cross-examination by Prince’s lawyer, Mark Waldron, it was put to Forde that in her police statement she said that she was personally aware that her brother had many enemies. The woman agreed with this suggestion and admitted to knowing Prince, who she said was a friend of her brother.
Also testifying was former Police Sergeant Eon Jackson, a Science Officer, attached to the Guyana Forensic Science Laboratory (GFSL). According to Jackson, during 2016, he was stationed at the Ballistics Section at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters, Eve Leary, Georgetown.
Jackson recalled that on March 21, 2016, he received two evidence bags from one of the police ranks investigating the killing. The witness told the court that the first bag contained 10 fired .40 casings.
The second bag, he added, contained two fired .40 bullets. He reasoned that the bullets were either fired from a .40 or 10mm pistol.
Police Constable Christopher Persaud, who is a crime scene rank, testified to visiting the crime scene where he took several coloured photographs of things of evidential value, including the motionless body of a man, which was lying on a parapet.
Former Police Corporal, Derwin Eastman, who is currently on remand for murder, testified that on March 19, 2016, he was performing duties at the Brickdam Police Station, where he was the Subordinate Officer in charge of the Crime Intelligence Unit, when a man on a bicycle came and reported something.
Based on that report, Eastman said he dispatched patrol ranks to a house at Lot 2 Smyth Street, Georgetown. Government Pathologist Dr. Nehaul Singh in his testimony gave Prince’s cause of death as multiple gunshot injuries.
The doctor said that all nine bullets exited Prince’s body. The mother and aunt of the deceased also testified.

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