-Accused said he was not aware gun was loaded when he squeezed trigger and shot his friend

IN leading his defence before Justice Sandil Kissoon and a 12-member jury, Allister Woolford told the court that he did not intend to harm his friend Devon Howell in any way when he squeezed the trigger and his friend was shot. He did not know the gun was loaded.

He opted to remain in the box where he made an unsworn statement on Wednesday in the Demerara High Court, after the state closed its case in the 2014 manslaughter trial.

He said, “Your Honour, when I had the firearm I squeezed the trigger at Devon I had no intention of harming him in any way. I was only joking around and doing it for fun. I trusted my squaddie (Jonathan Williams.) I trusted him so much I didn’t know he woulda hand me a loaded weapon and I honestly believe that the firearm was empty.”

Before the state closed its case on Wednesday, the final witness, Government Pathologist Dr. Nehaul Singh testified after being deemed an expert in the area of forensic pathology, that he performed a post-mortem on the body of Devon Howell on December 10, 2014.

He related that the body had a circular wound on the right side of the neck. The bullet exited through the left side.

Dr. Singh gave the cause of death as respiratory failure as a result of fractures.

The defence had no witnesses and attorney Compton Richardson made his closing submission in which he told the court that it was a tragic case — a mistake made by the accused Allister Woolford, a former member of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).

He stated that the accused was not aware that the firearm was loaded when he pressed the trigger and shot his friend, Devon Howell.

Meanwhile, State Prosecutor Mandel Moore in his closing address, said that it was ‘by playing too much and making joke’ that caused Howell to lose his life when he was shot by the accused.

He added that sufficient evidence was produced in court to support the case in which the deceased was unlawfully killed, since there is no degree of doubt that it was the accused who pulled the trigger of a loaded gun.

Moore said it was an “unlawful and grievous act” that caused Howell to lose his life.

According to State prosecutor Mandel Moore, the accused Allister Woolford was indicted for the December 8, 2014 manslaughter of Howell at D’Andrade Street, Newtown, Kitty.

He told the court that on November 21, 2014, the accused, while armed with a gun allegedly shot and killed his friend, Devon Howell, who succumbed to his injury on December 8, 2014, while a patient at the GPHC.

Justice Sandil Kissoon will sum up the case on Monday at 09:00hrs after which the 12-member jury will retire to the jury room to deliberate for a verdict.