… due to absence of Special Prosecutor

THE defense team of Marcus Bisram is furious following the absence of Magistrate Alex Moore and Special Prosecutor Stacy Gooding at court yesterday, in the matter of Marcus Bisram who was recently extradited from the United States to face the charge of murder of Berbice carpenter Faiyaz Narinedatt.

Magistrate Moore called in sick and the matter was heard at the New Amsterdam Magistrate’s court before Magistrate Peter Hugh, instead of Springlands Magistrates’ Court, as scheduled.

The absence of the duo, especially the prosecutor, meant there was no disclosure of evidence for the paper committal nor a site visit as was originally scheduled. The matter was adjourned and will be heard next Monday.

When the matter was called in the morning session, Attorney at Law Sanjeev Datadin, on behalf of the defence, requested the full disclosure of evidence as was instructed by Magistrate Alex Moore last week. However, due to the absence of the Special Prosecutor, that was not available.

Prosecutor Rudolph Poliah, who stood up on behalf of the state, was instructed by Magistrate Hugh to make contact with Gooding and provide an update. However, when the matter was called again in the afternoon session, the Police Prosecutor disclosed that he was unable to reach Gooding via phone and could not say what was the status of the disclosure, noting that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had initially wanted the matter to be adjourned until January 2020.

That, immediately, sent Datadin into a frenzy, as he accused the DPP of deliberately trying to delay the case against his client.

Speaking with reporters after the matter was adjourned, Datadin posited that the DPP does not have a solid case against his client and was using various methods to stall, hoping to build a case. That, he noted, was against a ruling by the Caribbean Court of Justice earlier this year that, given the special circumstances of the matter, it should be heard without delay and at the earliest opportunity.

In light of Magistrate Moore’s absence, Bisram, who is being held at the Camp Street Prison, was not taken to Berbice. However his relatives showed up at the court after the proceedings had ended.

Narinedatt’s body was found around 03:30hrs on Tuesday, November 1, 2016, on the Number 70 Public Road, East Corentyne, Berbice. His death was initially reported as a suspected hit-and-run accident. It was later reported that Bisram had made sexual advances on Narinedatt, advances that the latter had not taken too kindly to.

Bisram became a Person of Interest to the police after they began investigating the death of the carpenter. He was accused of ordering the fatal beating of Narinedatt, a young father of two. Bisram was charged on November 21, 2019, and remanded to prison, while five others: Orlando Dickie, Radesh Motie, Diodath Datt, Harri Paul Parsram, and Niran Yacoob have also been committed to stand trial for the murder.
Pic saved as Attorney at Law Sanjeev…