Two men who allegedly attempted to murder a man and assaulted his wife were remanded to prison when they appeared at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

Cheddie Dawson

Cheddie Dawson and Orlando Albert were not required plead to the charge of attempted murder when it was read to them by Magistrate Priya Beharry. The men were also charged with unlawful and malicious assault and unlawful and malicious damage to personal property and they pleaded not guilty to the former.

It is alleged that on August 17 at White Creek the men with intent to commit murder wounded Devon Benjamin and unlawfully and maliciously assaulted the man’s reputed wife, Roxanne Oselma, so as to cause her actual bodily harm. Further on the said date they allegedly damaged a quantity of PVC pipes and tarpaulins together worth $256,000, property of Lennox Almond.

According to the prosecution at 1 am on the day in question the men, armed with cutlasses, entered the camp at White Creek where Benjamin and Oselma were and dealt the man nine chops about his body. As they were chopping Benjamin his reputed wife attempted to rescue him and the men lashed her several times with their cutlasses. Further, the prosecution said that as the men were leaving the camp they chopped the articles stated in the damage to property charge.

Benjamin is at present at the Georgetown Public Hospital, the prosecution stated, where he is in a serious condition and is awaiting surgery. Based on the seriousness of the offences committed the prosecution requested that bail be refused.

Orlando Albert

“Take a look at my back…the police did that,” Dawson told the magistrate displaying several marks on that part of his body. “I can identify them…that is one of them,” the man further said pointing to a policeman in the courtroom.

“When he was arrested that is the condition he was in,” the policeman told the court.
The magistrate advised Dawson to report the matter to the Police Complaints Authority or to write a letter to the Commissioner of Police informing him about the matter and an investigation would be launched.

Magistrate Beharry remanded both men to prison and their matters were transferred to the Matthew’s Ridge Magistrate’s Court for November 11.