Matters in which persons were committed to stand trial in the High Court this year

Nov 21, 2021 Court Stories, News

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By Renay Sambach

Kaieteur News – In this article, I will highlight some matters where the defendants were committed to stand trial in the High Court for serious offences, for this year thus far.

Earlier this year, I had shared the different methods Magistrates use to dispose of matters. In the Magistrate’s Court, there are three different methods in which matters are tried.
For the not so serious offences, a trial is conducted, while for the serious offences the Magistrate can either conduct a preliminary inquiry (PI) or a paper committal.
For the serious offences, the defendant is not allowed to either plead guilty or not guilty, since the matter was laid indictably. For those offences, the Magistrate does not impose a sentence but rules whether or not sufficient evidence was presented to the court for the matter to either be discharged or for the defendant to be committed to stand trial in the High Court of the respective districts.
On July 23, four years after being charged with the October 2017 killing of Godfrey Scipio known as ‘Sagga’, former ‘Best Cop’, Derwin Eastman, was committed to stand trial in the High Court for murder. Also, the matter was discharged against former constable of the Guyana Police Force (GPF), Jameson Williams.
Eastman and Williams were charged jointly in December 2017. The matter was being heard in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts before Senior Magistrate, Fabayo Azore.
On November 27, 2020, Magistrate Azore had stated that sufficient evidence was presented to the court for the duo to be implicated in the murder – a prima facie case was made out against Eastman and Williams.
As a result of the ruling, Eastman and Williams opted to lead their own defence.

Earlier this year, both men commenced calling witnesses to lead their defence. Following this process, Magistrate Azore committed Eastman to stand trial at the next practicable sitting of the Demerara Assizes before a judge and jury, and the matter was discharged against Williams.
According to reports, Scipio of Lot ‘ZZ’ 22 D’Urban Street, Wortmanville, Georgetown, had been selling at the Berbice car park for several years and was known for wearing lots of gold jewellery.
According to police, he was shot in the chest as he was leaving a city hotel on October 27, 2017.
Ex-con, Aubrey Bobb, 27, of Kitty, Georgetown, was the first to be committed to stand trial in the High Court for the murder of the businessman. After Bobb was arrested for the murder, he implicated Eastman and Williams in the crime.
Bobb was committed in 2019 to stand trial in the High Court but is still in jail awaiting the commencement of his trial.
Also in July, Michael Kendall, a police officer, was committed to stand trial in the High Court for the alleged rape of a minor.
Kendall was committed to the High Court using the paper committal process – this was done by Principal Magistrate, Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
According to reports, Kendall and one, Eon Franklin, was charged jointly in March 2021 for the alleged rape of a minor. They were not required to plead to the indictable charge, which alleges that on December 3, 2020, at Georgetown, they raped a child under the age of 16. Both men were placed on $300,000 bail each on their first court hearing.
Principal Magistrate Isaacs-Marcus ruled that based on the evidence that was submitted to the court, she found sufficient evidence against Kendall for him to stand trial at the next practicable sitting of the Demerara Assizes. As such, he was committed but remains released on bail.
In April, alleged serial rapist, Thurston Semple, was committed to stand trial in the High Court.

Thirty-seven-year-old Semple was committed to stand trial in the High Court for allegedly raping a sex worker, but he was placed on $250,000 High Court bail for that offence.
However, Semple, a taxi-driver of Lot 5A, Tucville Terrace, Georgetown, remains in prison since he is still to answer for a similar charge involving another woman.
The alleged serial rapist was committed to stand trial by Principal Magistrate, Faith McGusty in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts. The judicial officer committed him to stand trial in the High Court for allegedly raping a Venezuelan woman.
Semple’s committal was also done in the form of a paper committal.
According to reports, on March 5, 2021, Semple was slapped with his fourth rape charge and was remanded to prison for that offence. This publication had reported that he was not required to plead to the indictable charge, which alleges that between February 24, 2021, and February 25, 2021, at Lot 5A, Tucville Terrace, he engaged in sexual penetration with a woman, without her consent.
Also committed to stand trial is television producer, Collin Venture, of ‘B’ Field, Sophia, Georgetown. He was charged in January of this year for allegedly raping a 13-year-old girl and was yesterday committed to stand trial for the offence before a judge and jury in the High Court.
The 30-year-old accused was committed to stand trial for the offence after the conclusion of a paper committal by Chief Magistrate, Ann McLennan, in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts. He is expected to stand trial at the next practicable sitting in the Demerara Assizes.
On his first court appearance, he was not required to plead to the indictable offence, which alleges that during the month of September 2020, Venture raped a child under the age of 16. He was placed on $150,000 bail.

Awaiting trial for the death of 29-year-old David Barclay of Triumph, East Coast Demerara, is 29-year-old Kester Lewis, a taxi-driver. Lewis is expected to go on trial in the High Court for murder at the next practicable sitting of the Demerara Assizes.
On Thursday December 31, 2020, Lewis made his first court appearance in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts for the offence. The charge alleges that on December 27, 2020 at D’Urban Street, Lodge, Georgetown, Lewis killed Barclay.
According to reports, Barclay was struck down and dragged by a motorcar for some distance on D’Urban Street following a row over $700 with Lewis. Police in a statement had said that Barclay had approached Lewis, who was believed to be a mechanic, to fix his vehicle after it encountered problems on D’Urban Street.

 

 

 

 

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