– Calls on accused to lead defence

CHIEF Magistrate Ann McLennan on Wednesday, April 24, 2019, ruled that a prima facie case had been made out against three men who are accused of killing former Bourda Market vendor, Troy Romalho.

The ruling was made at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court during the Preliminary Inquiry (PI) into the murder.

George Paton, 34, a taxi driver of Eccles, East Bank Demerara (EBD); Akeem Morris, 26, of Sandy Babb Street, Kitty; and Roy Sandiford, 33, of Section ‘D’ Sophia, Greater Georgetown, are jointly charged with Romalho’s murder.

Particulars of the charge allege that the trio, on August 15, 2018, at Bourda, murdered Ramalho during the course, or furtherance of a robbery.
The chief magistrate ruled that Police Prosecutor Neville Jeffers was able to prove his case with sufficient evidence.

Paton, who is unrepresented by counsel, gave a statement in court and opted to call two witnesses. Meanwhile, Sandiford requested that his attorney Dexter Todd be present for his address. Meanwhile, Morris with the aid of his attorney Siand Dhurjon, declined to address the court.

The chief magistrate adjourned the matter until April 29, 2019.
According to reports, Romalho, of North Road, Lacytown, Georgetown, was shot around 23:00hrs on the day in question, after ‘he put up’ a fight during the robbery.

The 45-year-old vendor, who was well known for selling cheese and eggs in front of Rambarran’s on Robb Street, in proximity to Bourda Street, was plying his trade when the three bandits, one armed with a gun, pounced on him.

The police, acting on intelligence, arrested the taxi driver whose car the men had hired in Buxton, East Coast Demerara (ECD).