Vagrant murder charge discharged against Bourda man

Mar 13, 2020 News

Devon Johnson, 24, of Cummings Street, Bourda, Georgetown, who was on remand for the murder of two vagrants killed hours apart on Regent Street, yesterday had one of the murder charges discharged against him due to insufficient evidence.
The preliminary inquiry (PI) for the murder of Andrew Benjamin, called ‘SpongeBob’, was conducted by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

Devon Johnson

Three weeks after the PI commenced, after a psychiatrist deemed Johnson fit to stand trial for the murders, Chief Magistrate McLennan yesterday ruled that there is insufficient evidence against the defendant for the murder of Benjamin. As such, she discharged the matter against Johnson.
However, Johnson is still facing another murder charge for another vagrant. That preliminary inquiry will be conducted by Senior Magistrate Leron Daly.
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 alleged that on the same date and at the same location, he murdered Raymond Samaroo.
According to information, on the day in question, around 02:30hrs, Benjamin was asleep on the pavement when Johnson, who was armed with a knife, approached him and dealt him several stabs 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 Johnson approached him, whipped out a knife and dealt him several stabs before making good his escape.
When the defendant was arrested, it was reported that he is mentally unsound. However, based on advice from the Department of Public Prosecution (DPP) the defendant was charged for murder.

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