In the courts
US seeking jail term of 17 to 21 years for ‘Big Head’: Referring to Tower Suites co-owner Shervington ‘Big Head’ Lovell as “a sophisticated international drug trafficker,” the US Government has asked that he be sentenced to between 17 and 21 years in prison as he invested some US$100,000 to traffic in more than one tonne of cocaine from South America to Europe. “The defendant is a large-scale international narcotics trafficker who led a conspiracy to ship enormous quantities of deadly drugs across an ocean for distribution in Europe and elsewhere. The defendant, and the other leaders of this conspiracy, endangered the crew members’ lives to transport narcotics that would endanger even more lives once distributed. The defendant does not meaningfully dispute that he did all of this for his own monetary gain. The defendant makes no meaningful attempt to justify his actions, in spite of his obvious assets and advantages in life,” United States Attorney Audrey Strauss said in a 10-page submission to US Judge Paul G. Gardephe. Lovell, who has been in a US jail since 2018, pleaded guilty to count seven of his drug trafficking indictment last November before Justice Gardephe, who is due to hand down a sentence on May 20.
Judge grants order enabling sale of property housing Shanta’s: Justice Navindra Singh has granted an order permitting an executor, Deodatt Persaud, to sell the Camp Street property housing the iconic Shanta’s Restaurant. In the latest phase of a long-running legal battle between two siblings, the judge was scathing of the arguments presented on behalf of the defendants, the current occupants of the building, Premdaat Persaud and Mikail Vishnu Persaud, who had claimed unsuccessfully in a case before another judge that the property had been sold to Premdaat Persaud. In his judgment of April 30th, Justice Singh also awarded costs of $2 million against Premdaat Persaud and Mikail Vishnu Persaud. The proprietress of Shanta’s, Parbatti Persaud died on July 27th, 2003 leaving a will where Deodatt Persaud and Ascelia Rohini Kissoon were appointed the executors and trustees of the will. Deodatt Persaud is now the sole executor as Kissoon has not functioned as executor. On December 23rd, 2019, Deodatt Persaud instituted a Fixed Date Application for an order granting him permission to sell the property located at sub-lot “A” part of the west half of lot numbered 225 Camp and New Market Streets, Georgetown, Guyana held by County of Demerara Transport No. 2015 of 1956. On February 17th 2020, the Court ordered that the matter continue as though filed as a Statement of Claim since the Court determined that a trial was necessary to properly decide on issues raised in the Affidavit of Defence.