25 criminal cases completed during April session of the Demerara Assizes

Jun 05, 2026 News

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(Kaieteur News) – Of 138 matters that were scheduled to be heard before six High Court judges during the April 2026 Demerara Criminal Assizes, only 25 were disposed of, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) reported on Thursday.

Of the 25 matters that concluded, 20 were presented in the High Court. Of these, 15 were for murder, two for attempt to commit murder with an alternative count of felonious wounding and three for sexual offences.

The remaining five matters were nolle prosequi by the DPP. The matters were heard before Chief Justice Navindra Singh and Justices Sandil Kissoon, Nicola Pierre, Joy Persaud-Singh, Hessaun Yassin and Jacqueline Josiah-Graham.

There were 11 guilty pleas, three convictions, four not guilty verdicts by jury and one hung jury. There was a total of 20 persons accused in relation to these matters.

State Counsel Padma Dubraj, Nelissa Peterkin and Aleria Heywood presented five murder cases before Justice Joy Persaud-Singh. In four of the cases, the accused all pleaded guilty to the lesser crime of manslaughter.

One of them, who was a juvenile when the crime was committed, was sentenced to time served on remand; the three others are awaiting their sentences. The other one accused was acquitted by jury verdict.

State Counsel Joy Williams, Mtumika Lumumba and Amya Manu prosecuted four matters; three of sexual offences before Justice Jacqueline Josiah-Graham in the Sexual Offences Court and the other for murder before Justice Hessaun Yassin.

In one of the Sexual Offences matters, the accused who was indicted on four counts of sexual activity with a child family member, was found guilty on two counts by the jury and sentenced to 17 years on each count. His sentences are running concurrently and he is to undergo anger management and rehabilitation for sex offenders.

In another one, the accused who was indicted on two counts for sexual assault and rape, was acquitted by a jury on both counts.

One case remains in progress. In the one murder matter, the accused pleaded guilty as charged and was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment after the court made deductions for the guilty plea.

State Counsel Teneisha Saygon, Fenton Budhram and Geneva Wills prosecuted four matters before Justice Nicole Pierre. Of these, three were for murder and one for attempt to commit murder with an alternative count of felonious wounding.

In two of the murder trials, the accused pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter and are awaiting their sentencing. The other accused was acquitted by a jury verdict.

The accused was charged for attempt to commit murder with an alternative count of felonious wounding and was found unanimously guilty by jury on the alternative count; he is awaiting sentence on June 22, 2026.

State Counsel, Cicelia Corbin, Latifah Elliot and Rodley Mathoo prosecuted six matters before Justice Sandil Kissoon, one for attempt to commit and five for murder.

In three of the murder matters, the accused all pleaded guilty to the lesser crime of manslaughter. One was sentenced to 18 years and another to 30 years imprisonment with possibility of parole after 25 years. The one other will be sentenced on June 15, 2026.

Of the two others, one accused was found unanimously guilty by his jury and will await his sentence on June 8, 2026. While the jury in the other, returned hung in proportion of nine guilty to three not guilty; the accused was remanded back to prison to await a new trial.

The accused for attempt to commit murder was acquitted by a majority jury verdict of 11 not guilty.

State Counsel Christopher Belfield and Geneva Wills prosecuted one murder matter before Chief Justice (ag) Singh. The accused in this matter pleaded guilty to manslaughter; he is awaiting sentence.

The five matters nolle prosequi by the DPP were for sexual offences. In one of these cases, the complainant died. While the complainants in the others submitted written statements in which they indicated they did not wish to proceed with their matters.

Meanwhile, the State appeared in six appeals in the Court of Appeal (COA) for murder, manslaughter, sexual offences, causing death by dangerous driving and conspiracy to commit a felony.

The State was represented by Assistant DPP Lisa Cave, Assistant DPP Tifini Lyken, State Counsel ll Praneta Seeraj, State Counsel ll Madana Rampersaud and State Counsel ll Rbina Christmas.

There were four applications for bail pending appeal against conviction; the COA granted one application in $2M and ordered that the appellant lodge his passport with the Guyana Police Force and for him to report to the police station every three months.

Another appellant withdrew his application while the COA denied the other two applications. There were two applications for extension of time to appeal against conviction and sentence and these were granted.

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• criminal cases, Demerara Criminal Assizes, DPP, High Court

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