A MIXED jury at the Demerara Assizes yesterday found 29-year-old Orin David, called ‘Plait Hair’, not guilty of the robbery/murder at Hope, Mahaica, against businessman Lakhram Bishundial in 2010.

‘Plait Hair’ who was represented by attorney-at-law, Mr. George Thomas was discharged by Presiding Judge, Mr. James Bovell- Drakes.
The freed man was the number 2 accused in the Mahaica Robbery/Murder at which Shawn Anthony Thom, the No. 1 accused was freed last week by Justice Bovell-Drakes on a no-case submission by lawyer Mr. Trenton Lake.
This matter was a retrial. The jury a year ago had failed to reach agreement before another judge, resulting in the retrial.
On the morning of 21st August, 2010, Lakhram’s father and his brother had been returning home from the city after withdrawing $500,000 from a Bank to purchase items for a brother who was getting married.
But at Hope the brothers stopped at the request of another brother in a lorry. Two men, it is said, rode up on a motorcycle and effected the robbery/murder and then made good their escape.
The man who was charged as the alleged rider of the motorcycle, Shawn Thom, was freed recently on the no-case submission while the judge overruled the submission as it related to the No. 2 accused.
During his summing up yesterday, the judge among other things, notified the jury that the identification parade was not what it should have been be and declared that the lone eye witness was not helpful to the identification since under cross-examination, he said that he could not remember if he had told the police that the accused was the man he saw shoot Lakhram.
And, according to the judge the matter worsened, when the accused led an alibi defence- saying that he was at Linden at the time of the robbery and that the State did nothing to destroy that alibi by evidence.
The jury took about one hour to reach their unanimous verdict of not guilty.