A VERDICT is expected today in the manslaughter trial of Constable Sherwin Peters of the Guyana Police Force’s Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit.
He is accused of fatally shooting Dartmouth, Essequibo Coast businessman Orin Boston, during a police raid in September 2021.
On Tuesday morning, closing addresses were made, bringing the trial to a critical stage.

The presiding judge, Sandil Kissoon, is set to sum up the evidence to the jury today, after which the case will be handed over for deliberation on a verdict.
The trial is being heard at the High Court in Essequibo.

Constable Adrian Moore, a key prosecution witness and a member of the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU), took the stand when the trial commenced last week Tuesday to provide a detailed account of the operation that led to Boston’s death.

At the time of the incident, Moore was a member of the SWAT unit.
According to Moore, on September 14, 2021, he and approximately 10 other SWAT ranks received

structions from Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Gordon that they were to head to the Essequibo Coast for an anti-crime operation. He said the team was fully armed.

The CANU rank told the court that he was issued a primary weapon—an AR-15 with a torchlight attachment—and a secondary weapon, a Glock pistol.
According to him, the officers departed from SWAT Unit at Police Headquarters, Eve Leary, Georgetown to Parika, then on to Supenaam, and eventually arrived at the Guyana Police Force Training School in Suddie.
Upon arrival, Moore said ASP Gordon instructed them to remain “battle prepped” until further orders. The following day, he recalled instructions were given for raids to be conducted in multiple locations. Officers, Moore noted, were briefed on their rules of engagement.

“We were told of the firing orders—that you can only fire if you’re in serious danger and unable to defend yourself by any other means,” Moore testified.

Around 04:00 hours on September 15, 2021, the team arrived at a property in Dartmouth with two houses in one yard. The unit was split into Alpha and Bravo teams. Moore, who was in the Alpha team along with Peters, was ordered to “break down” the doors and search the houses.

“I used a ram to breach the first door. After the door was breached, the team flooded the house where several females were. Nothing was found, so we moved to the second house,” Moore said.
In the second building, Moore said he and Constable Lewis entered the first room, where they found two children. “I shouted ‘Police! Police! Get on the ground!’ I then instructed the children to go outside,” he recounted.
Moments later, he heard a loud explosion.

“I went to the second room and saw a male of African descent. He was big built and had what appeared to be blood coming from his shoulders. His upper body was on the bed, and his legs were on the ground,” Moore said.
According to him, Constable Peters (the accused), Constable Millington, and Lance Corporal Grenville were in the room with the injured man.
“Peters was trying to assist him,” Moore recalled.

He testified that the man, later identified as 29-year-old Orin Boston, was taken to the Suddie Public Hospital. Following the raid, Moore recalled that the team went back to the Police training school where he subsequently learned that Boston had died.

Moore emphasised in his testimony that Peters was among those who tried to help Boston and that the victim sustained no additional injuries during transport for medical attention.
In a statement, the police had said that SWAT unit officers conducted the operation in the wee morning hours, during which they went to Boston’s home to carry out a search.

According to the police, a “confrontation” occurred between Boston and the officers, resulting in him being shot—an account disputed by his wife.
While the police claimed there was a “confrontation” between Boston and the officers, his wife has publicly disputed that account.
Peters, 34, is unrepresented by legal counsel and has been on $1 million bail pending the outcome of the trial. The prosecution is being led by State Counsel Latifah Elliot.