THE BARTICA massacre trial was on Wednesday called in the High Court before Justice Roxane George and was adjourned to Friday to give time to address some legal and administrative issues.More than 30 witnesses are expected to testify in the high-profile case, which is expected to end in late November.

The state is being represented by prosecutors Diana Kaulesar, Tuanna Hardy and Narissa Leander.

The defence attorneys are Roger Yearwood, Madan Kissoon, Saphier Hussain, Maxwell McKay and Peter Hugh.

The five accused are Mark Royden called Durant Williams, Dennis Williams called Anaconda, Clebert Reece called Chi-Chi, Michael Caesar, and Roger Simon. It is alleged that they murdered 12 men at Bartica on February 17, 2008.

The five are facing 12 counts of murder, one count of terrorism, one count of unlawful wounding and three counts of break and enter and larceny.

During the February 17, 2008 rampage nine civilians and three cops were gunned down by a group of heavily armed men, who descended on Bartica at nightfall.

Those who lost their lives were Bartica residents Edwin Gilkes, Dexter Adrian and Irving Ferreira; policemen stationed at the Bartica Police Station, namely Lance Corporal Zaheer Zakir, Constables Shane Fredericks and Ron Osborne; Deonarine Singh of Wakenaam; Ronald Gomes of Kuru Kururu; Ashraf Khan of Middlesex, Essequibo; Abdool Yasseen; Errol Thomas of Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo and Baldeo Singh of Montrose, East Coast Demerara.

Rondell ‘Fineman’ Rawlins, according to the police, led the gang on the rampage in Bartica, as well as the one that converged on Lusignan on January 26, 2008. Rawlins was killed during a joint services operation on August 28, 2008.

The Police had revealed that investigations found a weapon which was stolen from the Bartica police station on the night of February 17, 2008.
Around 9.45 on the night of February 17, 2008 an estimated 15-20 gunmen rampaged through Bartica. Reports were that three of the men were left to guard the river while more than 10 others assaulted the community in the hour-long attack. The police outpost was first attacked and three officers were killed, while the other persons were later gunned down.

On March 7, the joint services had issued a statement revealing that they had unearthed one of the 11 12-gauge shotguns that had been stolen from CBR owner Chunilall Baboolall, which was abandoned in a camp at Bucktown, Wismar, Linden. The lawmen had also retrieved Baboolall’s Guyana passport and his National Insurance Scheme (NIS) card. The documents were found along with a quantity of eating utensils, a searchlight, a green tarpaulin; a hacksaw blade, and an empty plastic water container, among other articles.