By Clestine Juan

TWO of the five accused in the robbery of Land Court Judge Nicola Pierre and husband Mohammed Chan were found not guilty by Magistrate Zamilla Ally-Seepaul, while three others were found guilty and will be sentenced on June 23.

Premnauth Samaroo and Anthony David were freed, while their former co-accused Dameion Millington, Nicholas Narine and Warren McKenzie were found guilty. The five men were jointly charged with robbing the duo as well as shooting at a security guard on July 9, 2015.

The men are accused of robbing Pierre’s husband at gunpoint of five wrist watches, a Samsung Galaxy S5 phone, US$8,000, a wedding ring, four Oakley sunglasses and one brown leather wallet on July 9, 2015 at Montrose, East Coast Demerara.
The second charge alleged that,while brandishing a gun, they robbed Judge Pierre of a quantity of gold rings, diamond jewellery, a clump of gold and a quantity of gem stones among other items, all totalling $1M. They were also accused of feloniously wounding Pierre and her husband and discharging a loaded firearm at Roy Peters, with intent to maim, disable, disfigure or cause him grievous bodily harm.
The men have been on remand for the past 11 months awaiting completion of the trial, which began on January 11 at the Sparendaam Magistrates Court. The matter was prosecuted by Attorney-at-law Nigel Hughes.
Attorney Adrian Thompson defended Samaroo, Narine and David and Hughes had called several police and civilian witnesses to testify in court. The magistrate dismissed the charges against the two accused on the ground that there was not enough evidence to convict them.
According to reports, heavily armed bandits inflicted a brutal beating on the Land Court Judge and her husband after overpowering an on-duty special constable and storming the couple’s home located in a gated community at Felicity, East Coast Demerara. The couple were attacked while they were asleep. They were gun-butted into unconsciousness after the men had gained entry to their home via a window.

The robbers carted off a small safe containing US$7,000, jewellery, and a suitcase containing other valuables. But they were forced to drop their loot when they came under gunfire from a security guard who was stationed at a businessman’s home nearby. Pierre sustained a broken jaw and other injuries, while her husband received severe injuries to an eye. He has since lost the eye.