Marlon Letlow, Linden Scotland and Kim Bumbury, three of the four persons accused of aiding and abetting in the murder of Bartica gold dealers Jainarine Raghubir and Ramdeo Deonarine, were yesterday further remanded to prison when they made their second appearance at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.
Defence attorneys Vic Puran in association with Nigel Hughes who represented Letlow, who is a policeman, and Scotland and Peter Hugh who entered an appearance on behalf of Bumbury applied again for their clients to be granted their pretrial liberty, but this was denied.
Puran told the court that the prosecution had failed to advance substantial legal grounds for withholding bail from his clients.
Prosecutor Lionel Harvey argued that he will stand by his colleague’s previous position of denying the defendants’ bail on the basis of the seriousness and prevalence of the offence. He said too that he was not in possession of the file. Prosecutor Stephen Telford who dealt with the case on the first occasion was not present at yesterday’s hearing.
The prosecutor went on to say that he was also objecting to bail because another person, Keron Herbert, was recently charged with the murder of the gold dealers.
A visibly angry Puran argued that “another person being charged has nothing to do” with his clients being admitted to bail. The lawyer also added that his clients should not have to be denied their pretrial liberty because of the inability of the police to properly equip themselves. He said that while the police were dragging their feet on the case, his clients are being kept locked away in the prison. “This is not fair,” Puran said.
However, Harvey told the court that “not much time has elapsed since the defendants made their initial appearance…,” adding that “this is only their second appearance now.”
The request by Puran to have his clients admitted to reasonable bail was also echoed by Hugh.
But Acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry further remanded the defendants. They were ordered to return to court on October 18.
On September 20, Rawle Newton was charged with murdering the two gold dealers, while the same charge was read to Herbert on September 30.
Millions of dollars in cash, gold and diamonds was taken from the Second Avenue, Bartica house where the bodies of the two gold dealers were discovered on the morning of Sunday September 5.
Deonarine, 50, of Ruby, East Bank Esse-quibo and Raghubar, 43, of Fairfield, Esse-quibo Coast were discovered on the kitchen floor of a Second Avenue Bartica house. They bore deep wounds to the throat and they were bound.
