TWENTY-TWO-YEAR OLD Devon Chacon was on Monday charged with the robbery/murder of 43-year-old Abdool Ameer Subrati, who was shot dead at Herstelling, East Bank Demerara on October 20.Chacon was not required to plead to the indictable charge on Monday when it was read to him by City Magistrate Judy Latchman which alleged that he murdered Abdool Ameer Subrati during the furtherance of a robbery on October 20 at Herstelling.

He was represented by Attorney-at-law Folio Richards while in the presence of a packed courtroom filled with his relatives and friends. The matter was recalled for assignment by Chief Magistrate, Ann McLennan on Tuesday who adjourned it until November 24.

According to reports, Chacon is the brother-in-law of tenants who are renting the lower flat of the two-story house where the robbery occurred. On the day in question, five armed men stormed the home of a relative of Subrati’s, where three overseas-based Guyanese were staying. Subrati reportedly resisted the bandits and was shot to the neck. This newspaper understands that the bullet ricocheted to his spine and punctured his lung in the process.

Reports are that Subrati’s brother, wife and daughter arrived in Guyana days before the robbery, and had planned a family reunion at the Herstelling property. About 1:30h on the day in question, shortly after guests left, the five bandits, two of whom were armed, pounced on the family. The gunmen, hiding in a bathroom in the back yard, escaped on foot with the visitors’ passports, money, jewellery and other personal items.

Subrati, of Lot 21 Back Street, Peter’s Hall, EBD, succumbed to injuries sustained in the attack while undergoing surgery at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC).