THE State disposed of 25 matters during the Demerara April 2026 Criminal Assizes, which opened on April 7 with 138 cases listed before six judges of the High Court.
According to a report from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Chambers, 20 of the matters were presented in the High Court, comprising 15 murder cases, two matters involving attempted murder with alternative counts of felonious wounding, and three sexual offence matters.
The remaining five cases were discontinued through nolle prosequi by the DPP.
The assizes resulted in 11 guilty pleas, three convictions, four not guilty verdicts by juries and one hung jury. A total of 20 accused persons were involved in the matters disposed of during the session.
Before Justice Joy Persaud-Singh, prosecutors handled five murder matters. Four accused pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter. One of those offenders, who had been a juvenile at the time of the offence, was sentenced to time served on remand, while three others are awaiting sentencing. The remaining accused was acquitted by a jury.
These matters were presented by State Counsel Padma Dubraj, State Counsel Nelissa Peterkin and State Counsel Aleria Heywood.
State Counsel Joy Williams, State Counsel Mtumika Lumumba and State Counsel Amya Manu prosecuted four matters during the assizes, including three sexual offence cases before Justice Jacqueline Josiah-Graham in the Sexual Offences Court and one murder matter before Justice Hessaun Yassin.
In one of the sexual offence trials, an accused charged with four counts of sexual activity with a child family member was convicted on two counts by a jury and sentenced to 17 years’ imprisonment on each count. The sentences are to run concurrently, and the court also ordered that he undergo anger management and rehabilitation programmes for sex offenders.
Another accused, who faced charges of sexual assault and rape, was acquitted by a jury on both counts. A third sexual offence matter remains ongoing.
Meanwhile, in the murder case before Justice Yassin, the accused pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment after the court applied the appropriate deductions for the guilty plea.
State Counsel Teneisha Saygon, State Counsel Fenton Budhram and State Counsel Geneva Wills prosecuted four matters before Justice Nicola Pierre, including three murder cases and one matter of attempted murder with an alternative count of felonious wounding.
Two of the accused in the murder matters pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter and are awaiting sentencing, while another was acquitted by a jury. In the attempted murder case, the accused was unanimously found guilty on the alternative count of felonious wounding and is also awaiting sentencing.
Justice Sandil Kissoon presided over six matters, including five murder cases and one attempted murder matter. Three accused in murder cases pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
One was sentenced to 18 years’ imprisonment, another received a 30-year sentence with the possibility of parole after serving 25 years, while a third is awaiting sentence.
Another accused was convicted by a jury and is awaiting sentencing, while another matter ended with a hung jury, resulting in a retrial. The accused in the attempted murder matter was acquitted by an 11-member majority jury verdict.
The matters before Justice Kissoon were prosecuted by State Counsel Cicelia Corbin, State Counsel Latifah Elliot, and State Counsel Rodley Mathoo.
One murder matter was also prosecuted before Acting Chief Justice Navindra Singh. The accused pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter and is awaiting sentencing.
The DPP’s Office reported that all five matters discontinued by way of nolle prosequi involved sexual offences. In one case, the complainant had died, while in the remaining matters the complainants submitted written statements indicating that they no longer wished to proceed.