FOUR years after the gruesome murder of businessman, Seeram Singh, who was ‘gunned-down’ during a robbery, his killer, Curt Thomas, called “Deportee”, was, on Wednesday, found guilty of the crime.

Thomas, formerly of Hyde Park, Parika, East Bank Essequibo, was convicted by a 12-member jury.
Trial Judge, Justice Navindra Singh, at the Georgetown High Court, further remanded Thomas to prison pending a probation report and sentencing. A date has not been set by the court.
Following the announcement of the verdict, Thomas, who appeared virtually from the Lusignan Prison, began behaving disorderly. He also professed his innocence.
Thomas’ attorney, Lynden Amsterdam, apologised to the court and jury on his client’s behalf and explained that his client’s reaction was based on his conscience and what he believed to be the truth.

In his plea of mitigation, the lawyer asked the judge to temper justice with mercy to give Thomas an opportunity to return to society.
The State was represented by Prosecutor Tuanna Hardy. In her submission to the court on Wednesday, Hardy urged the jury to find Thomas guilty of the crime as the prosecution was able to meet the burden of proof.

She added that it was Thomas who shot and killed Singh and this was backed up by the testimonies of witnesses, including Rajmohan Autar, who positively identified Thomas during an identification parade.

She also placed weight on the testimony of the forensic analyst that the clothing submitted for testing said to be worn by the accused on the night of the shooting, tested positive for gun powder residue.

In her submission, Hardy told the court that Singh was murdered in cold blood by Thomas, who had no regards for the result of other persons being injured as there were people in close proximity to where the shooting occurred.

The Guyana Chronicle had reported that, on April 30, 2016, around 21:00 hours, Singh was walking along the roadway at Parika Outfall when he was attacked by an armed man.
Singh was reportedly shot in the back and fell onto the ground, and as he laid there, the gunman discharged two more rounds, hitting him in the head and chest, before relieving him of the two gold chains he was wearing and making good his escape.

By the time the police arrived on the scene, Singh had already died, but they found a live .32 round and a bullet casing of a similar calibre, along with his (Singh’s) wallet, cell-phone and a few gold rings, which the gunman had apparently missed, in his haste to flee the scene.

On May 4, 2016, Thomas was arrested at a Parika betting shop, and when placed on an identification parade, was allegedly identified as the shooter by an eyewitness.
A swab test done on Thomas’ hands reportedly tested positive for gunpowder residue. The police also carried out a search at his home and found clothing which matched what eyewitnesses said the shooter was wearing.