By Clestine Juan

TWENTY-YEAR-OLD Rayon Jones of Fourth Avenue, Bartica was remanded to prison on Tuesday by City Magistrate Judy Latchman for the murder of Puranand Andrew Baljit, who was stabbed to death in his Timehri, East Bank Demerara home.

Jones was not required to plead to the indictable charge which alleged that on June 9, at Madewini on the East Bank Demerara, he murdered the young mechanic during the course of a burglary.

The defendant was represented by attorney-at-law Latchmie Rahmant, who told the court that her client was the father of a young child and lived with his reputed wife. Rahmant requested that the preliminary inquiry of murder be done by paper committal in order to save the court’s time.

Magistrate Latchman adjourned the matter to July 5 and transferred the case to Chief Magistrate, Ann McLennan.

During his teenage years, Jones was arrested several times and appeared at the Bartica Magistrate’s Court on break and enter and burglary charges.

Jones was arrested last Saturday at the Georgetown seawall by police after being lured there by his reputed wife. Baljit, 23, called ‘Andrew’ was found with several stab wounds about his body, mainly to the chest and shoulder.

Following Jones’ arrest, he allegedly admitted to investigators that he had entered Baljit’s bedroom earlier that night and had secreted himself until the victim was asleep. He said that Baljit woke up suddenly and they had a fierce scuffle.

Baljit’s father said he heard his son scream and he rushed over to his bedroom, but found that the door was locked. He then exited the house, climbed through his son’s bedroom window and found him lying in blood.

He said his son was then taken by his stepmother to the East Bank Demerara Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.