Bus driver gets 56 months in jail for killing pedestrian
A bus driver, who was charged with causing the death of a farmer by dangerous driving, was yesterday sentenced to 56 months in prison by Magistrate Judy Latchman after she found him guilty of the crime.
Robert Griffith, 40, of Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara, was in total shock when the guilty verdict was handed to him by Magistrate Latchman in a Georgetown court, where his trial concluded yesterday.
Griffith, it was alleged, on May 23rd, 2016, at Garden of Eden, East Bank Demerara, drove minibus BSS 5550 in a manner dangerous to the public, thereby causing the death of a 37year-old Andrew Simon.
He had pleaded not guilty and was released on $1 million bail.
According to the prosecution’s case, Simon, a father of two of Lot 107 Grove Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara, was walking along the roadway around 7am, when he was struck by a minibus. Griffith had claimed that he swerved from a vehicle and collided with Simon, who was rushed to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre, where he succumbed while receiving attention. The now deceased man was also an employee of the Guyana Sugar Corporation.
Magistrate Latchman, in delivering her decision yesterday, told the court that she was satisfied with the evidence that was presented against Griffith by Police Prosecutor Vishnu Hunt.
According to the magistrate, the verdict was based on what the prosecution had presented in court.
During Griffith’s testimony, he had told the court that he did not see Simon on the fateful day but Magistrate Latchman yesterday informed him that the court did not believe that the man “stepped out of nowhere” when the accident occurred.
The magistrate told Griffith that he failed to exercise the five Cs while he was driving— Consideration, Common Sense, Caution, Courtesy, and Care—and therefore he was found guilty for the offence. Magistrate Latchman later handed down the 56-month sentence. Jevon Patterson and Romel Buttery, the two men who were charged with corruptly obtaining cash from Stabroek News photographer Keno George for the return of his stolen camera, were yesterday acquitted by a city court.
The verdict was handed down by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the conclusion of a three-day trial of Patterson, 25, and Buttery, 26, who were charged with corruptly obtaining $50,000 from George for helping him to recover his camera, which was stolen during an armed robbery.
Chief Magistrate McLennan told the court that she was satisfied that the prosecution, which was led by police prosecutor Deniro Jones, did not have enough evidence to support the contention that there was some sort of corruption in obtaining the monies from George. She said that the court believes that there was a form of agreement or arrangement between the men and George for them to be awarded the money for the stolen items. As a result, she said the prosecution failed to prove a case against Patterson and Buttery.
The Chief Magistrate noted that Patterson, during his testimony, said that he was on a fishing trip when he stumbled across a black bag with a camera inside. The accused had told the court that he saw on Facebook that there was a reward out for the stolen camera, which led him to contact George.
Patterson had told the court that he was not involved in the robbery and this was corroborated by George, who testified that the defendants were not the ones who robbed him and his friends.
Magistrate McLennan said that George did make an offer to the defendants and therefore she found them not guilty. Before letting Patterson and Buttery go free, the magistrate advised them that in the future when they find something they should take it to the police.