At Berbice Assizes…
THE trial of Dorsette Mc Cammon, who is indicted for the murder of policeman Micah Cort, eventually, got underway at the Berbice Assizes yesterday.

Before the start, on Thursday a sworn juror indicated to the Registrar that the mother of the accused is a relative of hers.

In answer to Justice Winston Patterson, the employee of a commercial bank said the other women, whom she knew, would conduct transactions at her workplace and they often engage in light conversations.

The prospective juror said it was during one of those exchanges she learnt that she is related to the Mc Cammons of West Coast of Berbice, from where the parents of the prisoner hail.

As a result, attorney-at-law Mr. Michael Baird, holding the brief for colleague Mr. Mursalene Bacchus, was granted an adjournment.

On the resumption yesterday, the juror was replaced and State Prosecutor Fabayo Azore delivered her opening address.

She said the case surrounds an unspeakable crime committed on an officer of the Guyana Police Force, who was fatally shot at Esplanade Ground in New Amsterdam, a short distance from the Berbice High Court building.

Azore said: “A night that was supposed to cascade with the sounds of soca and calypso, a night of merriment changed to the pulsating sounds of gunshots on February 11, 2007, where policeman Micha Cort was killed.”

The Prosecutor told the judge and mixed jury that, during the semi-finals of the Carib Soca Monarch Competition, at about 01:30h, persons were seen moving away from the bar area.

A scuffle developed between Mc Cammon and Cort and, when they were separated, the former was seen pointing a gun at the on duty policeman and, after four shots rang out, the accused was observed running away, Azore said.

The Prosecutor recalled that a licensed firearm holder discharged shots and Mc Cammon fell, with a gun next to him.

Azore said both wounded men were taken to New Amsterdam Hospital where they received treatment but Cort succumbed to his injuries.

The Prosecutor said a post mortem report revealed that the man died from respiratory failure, due to a fractured spine caused by gunshot injuries.

The Prosecution is expected to call witnesses when the proceedings resume on Tuesday.