JUSTICE Navindra Singh, on Tuesday, directed a 12-member jury to return a not-guilty verdict for Roberto Miggins called Hot Skull and Quasi Benjamin called ‘Rambo’, who were jointly charged for a murder at North West District.
The indictment read to the court stated that between October 12 and 13, 2016, in the county of Essequibo, the duo murdered Mario Pozzer called ‘Gaucho’, in the course or furtherance of a robbery.
Forty-three-year-old Pozzer’s bullet-riddled body was found on October 13, 2016 by two of his workers.
The trial commenced on Monday with the prosecutors calling several witnesses to the stand, including workers from the camp that the now deceased had owned.
According to Gavin Campbell’s testimony, his boss, Pozzer, left their camp with several ounces of gold, as they had just washed up a production.
It wasn’t until the following day, that they realised he never reached where he was going. They then went in search of him and found his lifeless body lying on the trail, near his ATV bike.
Campbell said that the haversack containing the gold that Pozzer had left with was gone.
During cross-examination by the prosecutors and the defence attorneys Nigel Hughes and Adrian Thompson, it was raised that, prior to Pozzer’s death, he had fired Omar Williams, and never paid him. It was insinuated that Williams should have probably been a suspect, and not the two accused, who are not known to any of the witnesses.
However, there was a star witness, an ex-police officer, who allegedly said that the two accused admitted to the crime. The star witness, however, did not show up for the trial, as such, there was no substantial evidence that pointed to the two men.
The defence attorneys then made a no-case submission, and it was upheld by the judge.
Justice Singh then told the jury that they have to return a not-guilty verdict until the State can build a solid case against the men.
The duo however, did not walk free, as they are still awaiting trial for a second murder charge. They were further remanded to prison.
The State was represented by Tuanna Hardy, Sarah Martin, and Teriz Mohamed.
