-accused remains in custody

THE office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on Tuesday instructed Magistrate Judy Latchman to commit former murder accused, Regan Rodrigues, known as ‘Grey Boy’ to stand trial in the High Court for the murder of political activist, Courtney Crum-Ewing.

The magistrate was instructed to do so, even though she had discharged the matter against Rodrigues for the second time on Monday at the end of the Preliminary Inquiry (PI). But this did not sit well with the DPP, Shalimar Ali-Hack, who wrote a letter to the magistrate instructing her to commit the accused to stand trial in the High Court.

On Tuesday afternoon, Special Prosecutor Nigel Hughes appeared before the magistrate on the matter, but Magistrate Latchman refused to commit the case to the High Court and explained that she had already discharged the matter against Rodrigues.
In her letter to the magistrate, which the Guyana Chronicle has seen, the DPP said, “In accordance with section 72 (2) (ii) (a) of the Criminal Law (Procedure) Act, Chapter 10:01, I hereby remit to your Worship the above-mentioned matter and direct you to comply with Sections 65 and 66 of the Criminal Law (Procedure) Act, Chapter 10:01 with a view of committing the accused.”

Magistrate Latchman discharged the matter against Rodrigues on the grounds that there is insufficient evidence against him. In her ruling, the magistrate said that while she was satisfied that the gun, which was used to shoot Crum-Ewing, was found at the home of the accused, the evidence offered by the prosecution did not implicate Rodrigues in the actual murder.
In relation to the 14 oral statements made by Rodrigues, which were admitted into evidence, the magistrate said they did not implicate him in the murder and there is no evidence that Rodrigues used the gun, pulled the trigger and shot Crum-Ewing.

In September 2016, Rodrigues was freed of the murder charge by Magistrate Latchman, due to the lack of evidence. The office of the DPP decided to re-open the case for further evidence from police witnesses and for the magistrate to rule on the oral statements made by Rodrigues.

Rodrigues has knowledge of the murder
Meanwhile, in an interview with the Guyana Chronicle on Tuesday, the special prosecutor said that in one of Rodrigues’s oral statements, there is sufficient evidence that he has knowledge of the murder.
According to Hughes, when Rodrigues was first arrested by the police at his home in River View, Ruimveldt, he had said to the ranks: “Officer, yuh can’t arrest me with this gun, this gun used to do nuff thing.”

As such, Hughes emphasised that based on this statement by Rodrigues, it shows that the accused had knowledge of the crime and what the gun was used to do. Additionally, Hughes, who is a prominent attorney, told this newspaper the fact that the murder weapon was found in the home of the accused, shows that there is sufficient evidence for the matter to be committed to the High Court.

Rodrigues remains in custody
Even though the matter was discharged against Rodrigues, the Guyana Chronicle has confirmed that he remains in police custody since Monday. Efforts made to contact Commander of ‘A’ Division, Marlon Chapman and Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum to enquire on what grounds Rodrigues remains in custody, proved futile.
However, when contacted, Police Public Relations Officer Jairam Ramlakhan said he was instructed by Commander Chapman that Rodrigues is indeed in police custody, pending the outcome of legal arguments between the DPP and the magistrate. During the course of his PI, Rodrigues did not have legal representation.

The bullet-riddled body of Crum-Ewing was found at Third Avenue, Diamond New Scheme, EBD, on March 10, 2015. The 40-year-old was shot twice to the temple, once to the back of the head and twice to the stomach.
The police in a statement had stated that the political activist was accosted by four men in a car, one of whom discharged several rounds, hitting him about the body. It was reported that the killer (s) used a .32 pistol to execute Crum-Ewing.

The political activist was well known for his one-man protest outside the office of former Attorney General (AG) Anil Nandlall. Minutes before he was gunned down, he was reportedly heard via a bullhorn urging residents of the neighbourhood to vote against the then ruling PPP/C party.