– ‘Mad Man’  freed by Judge
COMPTON Fernandes, alias ‘Mad Man’  was found not guilty of murder by a jury at the Demerara Assizes yesterday.
He was discharged  by trial judge Mr. James Bovell-Drakes. The accused was indicted  for the unlawful killing of Latchman Seeram nicknamed ‘Coolie Boy’ on July 3, 2005.
Leading prosecuting counsel Mrs Judith Gildharie-Mursalin with Miss Shavani Balcharan had contended that the prosecution had made out a case against the accused and urged the jury to return a verdict in accordance with the oath they had taken.
But Mr. Glenn Hanoman who noted that his client might have suffered because of the stigma which goes with his name, had urged the jury to find that the prosecution’s claim that the accused had inflicted injuries  on ‘Coolie Boy’ that resulted in the death of the deceased, was unreasonable.
In a statement from the dock, the accused said he was  at his home that day when three men accompanied by a vendor visited him and asked him to help them find a man in Albouystown, who had stolen  pants from the vendor.
According to the accused, he accompanied the men to Albouystown where they found the man who they brought to Commerce Street.  The accused, who had cuffed the deceased twice in the abdomen, said he had left the scene that day after the men had beaten the accused  badly.
After deliberating for two hours, the jury returned with a unanimous verdict of  not guilty.