– To be sentenced on April 3, 2024
RICHARD Martin, a former farmer from Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice), is currently in the process of awaiting sentencing. He has confessed to the murder of Ovid Chester in 2020.
Chester, 52, also known as “Spade” or “Brucky” from Lot 123 South Vryheid Lust, East Coast Demerara (ECD), was fatally stabbed on September 2, 2020, at Bourda Market.

Following investigations by the police, 54-year-old Martin was charged with his murder.
At the conclusion of a preliminary inquiry (PI) before the Magistrate’s Court, Martin was committed to stand trial for the capital offence before a judge and jury at the High Court.

At his arraignment before Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall earlier this month, Martin opted to go through a trial by pleading not guilty to the murder indictment against him.
However, after consulting with his lawyer, Domnick Bess, he maintained his not guilty plea to the murder charge but opted to plead guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter on Monday.

The Judge, during the trial at the High Court in Demerara, accepted the guilty plea.
The defendant is scheduled to appear in court on April 3, 2024, for the purpose of receiving sentencing. During this hearing, the judge will consider probation and prison conduct reports, as well as victim impact statements.

The matter is being prosecuted by State Counsel Praneta Seeraj and State Counsel Simran Gajraj.
According to investigations, Martin went to Bourda Market on September 1, 2020, to sell a construction net. There, he met Chester, who accepted his offer to sell the item.

After a while, he decided to go, since he had not seen Chester come back. On September 2, 2020, at around 10:00 hours, Martin came back to the market carrying a knife and set out to find Chester.
While Chester was standing in a passageway off North Road, Martin confronted him.

He began to inquire about the profits generated from the sale of the construction nets to Chester. A heated dispute ensued between the two, leading the convict to retrieve a knife and inflict a stab wound to Chester’s chest. Upon exiting the alley, Chester collapsed on Bourda Street. Subsequently, he was transported to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) where he was pronounced deceased upon arrival.