Vagrant murder PI… Video evidence fails to play

Mar 07, 2020 News

On Thursday, Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan continued with the preliminary Inquiry (PI) into the murder of Andrew Benjamin who was found with stab wounds to his neck on November 11, 2019.
When the matter was called, Police Prosecutor Neville Jeffers, called on Detective Inspector, Junior Blair, to continue his evidence into the murder.
Earlier, several other witnesses including the mother and sister of the deceased were called upon to give evidence in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
The defendant, 24-year-old Devon Johnson, of Cummings Street, Bourda, Georgetown, was deemed fit to stand trial last month for two counts of murder.
Detective Inspector Blair was scheduled to show video evidence to the court that was extracted from surveillance cameras at the scene of the murder.
However, due to technical difficulties, the video didn’t play and Blair only gave other aspects of his testimony.
Other video evidence into the murder was shown to the court on a previous court hearing.
An unrepresented Johnson declined to cross-examine the Detective after his testimony.
The Chief Magistrate then adjourned the matter to March 10, 2020, when she is expected to rule on the oral statement that was given to the police by the defendant when he was arrested.
Johnson made his first court appearance on December 4, 2019, before the Chief Magistrate when the two indictable charges were read to him.
The first charge stated that on November 11, 2019, at Regent Street, Georgetown, he murdered Andrew Benjamin. The second charge alleges that on the same date, and at the same location, he murdered Raymond Samaroo.
However, according to advice from the Department of Public Prosecution (DPP), two separate preliminary inquiries should be conducted for the killing of Benjamin and Samaroo both of whom were killed just hours apart.
According to information, on the day in question, around 02:30hrs, Benjamin was asleep on the pavement when a male individual, who was armed with a knife, approached him and dealt him several stab wounds about his body before making good his escape.
Benjamin was discovered lying in a pool of blood at the junction of Regent and Light Streets, Georgetown.
Later that day, about 21:30hrs, Samaroo was standing on the pavement by Household Plus when a man approached him, whipped out a knife and dealt him several stabs before making good his escape.
When Johnson was revealed as the suspect, he was arrested; there were reports of him being mentally unsound. However, based on advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions, the defendant was charged for murder.

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