In the court
Life sentence for man who murdered aunt: Kevin Mohan, known as ‘Chucky,’ was last Thursday handed a life sentence for the murder of his aunt Anita Mohan, who raised him from a baby and whom he slashed and beat to death and then robbed of $10,000 back in 2016. “Those who take life must themselves be prepared to sacrifice their own liberty and everything that comes along with it, for a significant, if not all of the rest of their lives. Justice demands it,” Justice Sandil Kissoon told an expressionless Mohan who continued to profess his innocence. “Your cruelty to one who considered and treated you as a son, will attract no mercy from this Court,” the judge declared. The judge said that he found no factors to mitigate the sentence, noting that while Mohan was only 22 years old when he killed his aunt, this cannot be considered a mitigating factor, since a significant number of murders are committed during robberies by that very age group. Recalling evidence presented during the trial, the judge told Mohan that he took his aunt’s life with such a degree of savagery, cruelty and brutality that witnesses described the scene as a “blood bath,” which he said described his murderous intent. The judge referenced also the autopsy report which revealed the severe beating, from which the woman suffered broken ribs, and blunt trauma to her head, neck and chest. “Your reward for her acts of generosity,” was most barbaric and heinous…“Against your own aunt,” the judge said.
Five charged over Black Water Backdam murders: Five persons were last Wednesday remanded to prison for the murders of Suresh Bachan and Steven Niles, who were found dead three weeks ago, at a mining camp at Black Water Backdam, Cuyuni River. Those charged are: Nicholas Caesar, a 22-year-old miner of Yarrowkabra Village, Linden Soesdyke Highway; Venezuelan nationals Juan Oscar Calderon Lopez called ‘Gordo’, 25; Jose Ramon Tovar called ‘Bashein’, 24; Luis Miguel Monrroy, 35; and Jhonny Gonsalve called ‘Sankey Pankey’, 47. They all appeared at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court before Magistrate Dylon Bess where the charge was read. They were
not allowed to plead to the indictable charge and were remanded to prison. The matter has been transferred to the Kamarang Magistrate’s Court and postponed to September 20, 2021. The Guyana Police Force had reported that the owner of the gold mining operation, Kevin Faerber, received information from workers at the camp about the gruesome discovery of the men’s dead bodies. The report stated that the workers, upon arrival at the work site, found the bodies of 52-year-old Suresh Bachan, of Thomas Street, Kitty, and 31-year-old Steven Niles. Bachan was found lying on his back on a makeshift bed, while Niles was also found lying on his back in a hammock. It is believed that the duo were killed between August 4 and 5. Additionally, Niles’ AR-15 firearm was stolen along with the top mat from the sluice box.
Hospital driver charged with larceny, forgery of vaccine books: A day after he allegedly admitted to stealing a quantity of COVID-19 vaccination books, a driver attached to the West Demerara Regional Hospital (WDRH) was on Friday remanded to prison on two charges. Avinash Rameshwar, 27, of Lot 50 Goed Intent, West Bank Demerara (WBD), appeared before
Magistrate Zamilla Ally-Seepaul at the Leonora Magistrate’s Court. He was charged with simple larceny and forgery of official documents. Rameshwar was not required to plead to the charges.
The proceedings were then adjourned until September 20. Rameshwar was one of three men arrested by the police last Tuesday in relation to the discovery of the books, a quantity of medical equipment and other documents. The two other suspects were released without being charged.
Police had said on Thursday that Rameshwar confessed to being the driver of one of the hospital’s minibuses, PWW 3747, which would sometimes be tasked with uplifting and transporting COVID-19 vaccination booklets from the Ministry of Health, Georgetown.
The police added that Rameshwar reportedly also admitted to “taking out” twelve of the COVID-19 vaccination booklets during one of the trips.
Judicial Reform
Bail bill, sentencing guidelines seen as ways of reducing prison overcrowding: With prison overcrowding an age-old issue for the justice sector, the Support for the Criminal Justice System (SCJS) programme has advanced a number of steps aimed at arresting the problem, including sentencing guidelines and a bill on bail. This was announced by Project Manager of the SCJS, Indira Anandjit and Attorney General (AG) Anil Nandall SC during their respective presentations at the opening ceremony of the programme’s mid-year review last Thursday. Legal aid, restorative justice and the utilization of community and probation services were offered as means to address the problem of prison overcrowding which Anandjit said is hoped will bring some measure of relief to the police, prosecutorial, judicial and prison resources. The SCJS noted in its report that the overuse of pre-trial detention contributes to prison overcrowding and is compounded by a number of factors, including detainees’ lack of legal representation. It is against this background Anandjit indicated that through its pilot programme, the SCJS’s Legal Aid Clinic is improving access to justice by providing free legal representation for offenders on remand for minor, non-violent offences. Some of the offences alluded to in this category are, break-and–enter and larceny, robbery, traffic offences and narcotic possession.