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Duo found guilty of killing guard during 2013 robbery at Lethem Post Office
Alvin Kissoon and Calvin King were yesterday further remanded to prison after being found guilty of the January 2013 murder of security guard, John Friday, who was shot and killed during a robbery at the Lethem Post Office.
GUILTY: Alvin Kissoon and Calvin King
Kissoon and King had initially denied the charge which alleged that they killed Friday between January 18 and January 19, 2013.
The State represented through Prosecutors Abigail Gibbs and Mandel Moore said that the men travelled to Lethem from Georgetown to commit the crime which left Friday dead. Based on previous reports, the men entered the post office where they tied up and physically brutalised two on-duty security officers, including Friday.
There, they stole a quantity of cash, phone cards and other articles after breaking into safes using a cutting torch. Other articles linked to the robbery were recovered in their possession.
Following the robbery, all police divisions were notified and later that day, police ranks at the Mabura checkpoint stopped and searched a motorcar during which over $4M was found hidden under the rear seat.
During their trial, Kissoon and King were represented by lawyers Lyndon Amsterdam and Adrian Thompson, respectively. Justice Sandil Kissoon presided over their trial at the High Court in Georgetown.
In proving its case, the prosecution called several witnesses, including police ranks and civilians among whom were employees of the Guyana Post Office Corporation (GPOC).
In their defence, Alvin Kissoon and King opted to give unsworn testimonies.
Cecelia Austin was among the GPOC employees who took to the stand. She said that she has been employed with the GPOC as a Post Mistress for the past 29 years. Austin told the court that during January 2013, she was stationed at the Lethem Post Office. She recounted that on January 19, 2013 around 06:55am, a staffer of the post office came at her home and told her something after which she immediately contacted 911.
According to her, she then went down to the Lethem Police Station where she saw police ranks conducting investigations.
Austin said that she entered her office, along with a staffer, after the police wrapped up their work, and informed her that the post office had been broken into. She said that upon entering her office, she discovered mail scattered all over the floor and two safes, which stored money and other valuables were open.
She recounted that one of the safes contained $1,000 notes, while the other contained $500, $100 and $20 notes, stamps, a cellular phone and 41 $500 GTT landline phone cards. Austin added that when she left work for home on January 18, 2013, a total of $4.6M was in the two safes.
The monies were missing when she returned the following day. Asked by Prosecutor Gibbs to explain how the safes are secured, Austin said that a master key, an iron bar and a padlock were used to lock both of the safes. She also recounted that prior to the robbery; Kissoon had visited the post office to uplift a money order for $20,000, but was unable to do so as he had no form of identification.
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