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Magistrate grants extension as defence seeks more time in Ian Mekdeci accident trial
Kaieteur News – Senior Magistrate Leron Daly is yet to rule on the admissibility of CCTV footage in the trial concerning the accident that led to the death of National squash player, 27-year-old Ian Mekdeci, back in 2022.
The trial resumed at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Friday, March 22, for 39-year-old Roberto Narine, who was charged in relation to the fatal accident. The charge alleges that on May 1, 2022 at the intersection of Sandy Babb Street and Vlissengen Road Kitty, Georgetown, he drove in a manner dangerous to the public, thereby causing the death of Mekdeci.
The initial deadline in February for submissions by the defence lawyer, Siand Dhurjon has passed. However, on Friday, the defence attorney made a request for additional time to file his submissions, and this was granted by Magistrate Daly. As such, she adjourned to May 14, 2024.
During the hearing on February 14, there were objections regarding the admissibility of CCTV footage capturing the accident. Narine’s defence counsel Dhurjon, contended that the footage acquisition process, involving transfer from a Digital Video Recorder (DVR) to a flash drive and subsequently onto a disc, raised procedural concerns.
Responding to the defence’s objections, Special Prosecutor Latchmi Rahamat, insisted on written submissions, contending that the defence’s proposal to play the video, followed by cross-examination of the prosecution witness and then raising objections was not the appropriate procedure to follow.
She reminded the court that the defence was misapplying the best evidence rule. She emphasised that, based on the court’s own knowledge, this is the standard procedure employed by the Guyana Police Force (GPF) Video Analyst Unit in presenting evidence in criminal cases across the country.
This publication had reported that most cases handled at the magistracy level as well as the high court, prosecutions especially in cases like murder, used CCTV footage to prove its case. The extraction and presentation of such footage to the court have followed a standardised process adopted by the GPF Video Analyst Unit. As such, given the prevalence of this practice, the court’s response to Dhurjon’s objection regarding CCTV footage admissibility holds significant implications. The decision could potentially impact individuals currently held on remand for murder and even those previously convicted based on similar evidentiary grounds.
The objections had prompted Senior Magistrate Daly to instruct both parties to present their written submissions for consideration, facilitating a decision on the trial’s progression. The defence was expected to make submissions by late February; however the deadline had since been further extended.
Narine was charged with two offences: driving under the influence and causing death by dangerous driving. Last April, the DUI charge was thrown out. According to reports, Narine’s Jeep #PTT 4136 had crashed into a car that Mekdeci was travelling in, around 02:10 hours on the day in question.
The car was at the time being driven by Mekdeci’s friend Sheik Baksh, and they were reportedly heading west along Sandy Babb Street. When they arrived at the intersection at Vlissengen Road, the traffic light at their end was green and Baksh proceeded to drive across but as he was doing so, a jeep, allegedly driven by Narine and heading north along Vlissengen Road jumped the red light and crashed into them.
As a result of the accident, both Baksh and Mekdeci were severely injured. An ambulance was called and they were both rushed to GPHC where Mekdeci died while receiving treatment. Police had arrested Narine and when they conducted a breathalyzer test on him, the results showed that his Breath Alcohol Content (BAC) was 161 and 151 percent, way above the legal limit.
However, Narine’s DUI charge was thrown out last year by Magistrate Clive Nurse after he upheld Dhurjon’s no-case submission that an unauthorized officer conducted a flawed breathalyzer procedure on Narine using a device unapproved for the said purpose.
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