Robbery of cinema magnate…
CINEMA magnate, Anand Persaud, was on his way to the Timehri Airport in 1994, en route to Gaudeloupe, when armed highway robbers, Christopher Goudge and Kenrick Benn, attacked and robbed him of millions of dollars in foreign currency and jewellery. Persaud, who now owns a television station, was able to identify the robbers, who led an alibi defence at their trial, and alleged that they were elsewhere at the time the crime was committed.

But the mixed jury ejected the alibi defence, accepted the story as told by Persaud, and returned a verdict of guilty of robbery under arms in relation to both accused.

Justice Claudette Singh, the then trial judge, did the rest.  She sentenced each accused to 10 years imprisonment, making a grand total of 20 years in jail.

The prisoners appealed their convictions and sentences, but the Guyana Court of Appeal, constituted by Chancellor of the Judiciary, Mr. Cecil Kennard, and Justices of Appeal Messrs. Lennox Perry and Prem Persaud dismissed the appeals, and affirmed the convictions and sentences.

At the jury trial, the accused were represented by Mr. Mortimer Coddett, while Attorney-at-law, Mr. Arif Bulkan of the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), prosecuted.

At the close of the prosecution’s case, defence counsel submitted that the State had failed to make out a case against the accused, and urged the judge to free the accused at that stage, rather than calling on them for a defence.  But, after legal arguments from both sides, the trial judge overruled the no-case submissions and directed that the case was one for the jury to decide.

The first witness called to testify for the prosecution was the virtual complainant, Mr. Anand Persaud.

He recalled that on May 9, 1994 at about 10:15am, he was in a taxi travelling to the Timehri Airport. He was en route to Guadeloupe to attend a Rotary meeting there. He had an airline ticket and a Guyana passport in his possession.

Said he: “I had a gold ring on my right hand, which had a 37-point diamond inset; I had a gold band with the name ‘Anand’ inscribed on the band on my right hand.

“There were 29 diamonds inset on the band; I was wearing three gold chains with three pendants; I had my wallet in my left side pocket containing G$3,000.   I had a briefcase containing US$9,865 in travellers’ cheques amounting to US$240,000.  The briefcase was on the front seat  of the car on the left side;   I was sitting about the  middle of the back seat.

“The gold chain with pendant valued about $G450, 000; band and ring about $G4450,000.   When we were by the gas station  at Soesdyke, I heard as if the tyre was punctured .   I spoke to the driver.  As   a result, the driver subsequently pulled over and stopped approximately 20 yards to the Linden, Soesdyke Highway.

“After the car stopped, both of us came out and opened the trunk.   The driver and I were the only persons in the car.  He took out the spare wheel.   I observed that it was soft.  The driver left and walked towards the gas station.  I closed the trunk.   I was standing outside of the car, looking at the traffic.

“I saw a maroon-red motorbike turn off the highway; there were two persons.   The motorbike then travelled on the west carriageway of the public road. As the two persons came closer, the bike went about 15 feet after passing the car.   The men were looking at me, and I at them.  Then they turned around and they were travelling south to the eastern carriageway.  I was still standing outside of the car.  The rider asked me if I needed help.   I said ‘no’.   They rode off south, and I made a left turn unto the Linden/Soesdyke Highway,   I had seen both of them before that day.

“I had seen the rider around Strand Cinema and around Charlotte Street.   Shortly after the accused rode off,  I went back into the car; I was in the back seat. I closed  the door, started the engine, and turned on the  air conditioner.

“While I was there, I saw the same two men about five to seven minutes after, turn right off the Highway, [and] turn right on the eastern carriageway proceeding north.   The motorbike stopped on the eastern side of the eastern carriageway;  they stopped by the middle of the car  on the eastern side.   No. 2 accused came off the motorbike and opened the left front door of the car, pushed his body inside and said: ‘This is a holdup.’”

Continuing with his testimony, Persaud said: “I fired a cuff at him.   He came out of the vehicle and pulled a gun from his waist and took out a magazine from his left pants pocket.  He inserted the magazine into the gun, cranked it, came back with it and pushed his body in the vehicle, put the gun to my stomach and said: ‘You is a f—–dead man.’

“He pressed his gun and said: ‘Lay down; lay down.’ I lie down face up. Then I saw the right front door of the car open. The No. 1 accused came into the car; he was facing me and placed a gun to my head. The No. 1 accused then pulled off my band marked Anand, pulled off my ring, [and] told me to take out my wallet from my left front pocket.  I took it out and handed it to him; I gave it to him because he still had the gun pointing at my head. While the No. 1 was doing this, the No. 2 accused removed the three gold chains with the pendants.  He pulled them off.

“The No. 1 accused told the No.2 to get the briefcase and the passport and ‘leh we go.’ They then left the vehicle, [and] replaced their respective guns at their waists.  The No. 2 placed the briefcase in front of him  on his belly and rode off towards Georgetown,” the witness said. He then went on to explain how he went to a city hospital two days later where he identified the accused, who was a patient at the hospital.

Witness had testified that around the middle of December the same year, he identified the No. 2 accused in a minibus. On the strength of the witness’s testimony, both accused were convicted by the jury and sentenced by the judge to a total of 20 years imprisonment.

Their appeals to the Guyana Court of Appeal were unsuccessful.