LAWRENCE Rowe, 37, of Parker Street, Providence has been committed to stand trial in the High Court for the murder of Cuban National, Joel Perez Laffita, whose body was found on the roadway at Providence, East Bank Demerara on March 8.He appeared before city magistrate Leron Daly on Tuesday and was committed when the Preliminary Inquiry ended in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court. The matter was prosecuted by Police Corporal Bharat Mangru.

On April 5, Rowe appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan and was charged for the indictable offence which alleged that he murdered Joel Perez Laffita during the course of a robbery.

Laffita, 47, was discovered dead during the wee hours of March 8 on the Providence Public Road, and it was suspected that he was shot during a robbery attempt. He had been last seen alive around 8.30pm on March 7 when he disembarked a ship which arrived from Trinidad and Tobago.

Providence residents had recalled seeing a person, dressed in a hoodie, riding up to Laffita moments after they heard the sound of a loud explosion, suspected to be a gunshot. The suspect then rode away. Laffita had in his possession a small quantity of cash, which was found intact.