Former New Amsterdam Mayor Errol Alphonso of Penitentiary Walk quickly exited the courtroom on Monday after Magistrate Geeta Chandan-Persid discharged two counts of attempted murder against him.
Counsel for the defence Nigel Hughes had argued that the evidence presented by the prosecution was confusing. In addition,
the alleged weapon used was never tendered as an exhibit and consequently there was a break in the nexus of the case.
According to particulars of the offence Alphonso allegedly attempted to murder Aubrey Brandt and Sherwin Vyphuis on September 2, 2008 at Penitentiary Walk.
The two men were allegedly shot by the former mayor while being escorted to the police station in a police vehicle.
Brandt is described as a known ‘character’ who was a suspect in a break and enter incident committed on a school teacher’s residence earlier in the day while Vyphuis is reported to be a patient at the Canje Psychiatric Hospital who had escaped from the institution.
A police patrol was escorting Brandt to the police station when they responded to a report that vagrants had entered a yard next to Alphonso’s residence and found Vyphuis in a tank in the yard.
It is said that while in the police vehicle Brandt became enraged and abused the ranks and lunged at Alphonso, pushing one of the ranks and Alphonso to the ground, before making a bid to escape.
However, he was recaptured and again placed in the patrol vehicle but continued to threaten to harm those in the vicinity but he was more focused on Alphonso.
The former mayor was alleged to have fired two shots resulting in Brandt being hit in the right side groin while Vyphuis was struck on his right knee.
The two men were rushed to the New Amsterdam Hospital by the police patrol. Alphonso also had to be taken to the hospital after becoming ill not long after being placed in custody as he was suffering from high blood pressure.
