Man charged with murdering Cuban national during robbery

Lawrence Rowe
Lawrence Rowe
Lawrence Rowe

A Providence man was yesterday charged with murdering a Cuban national who was killed a short while after disembarking a ship that docked in the country.

Lawrence Rowe, 37, of Lot 69 Parker Street, Providence, is accused of murdering Joel Perez Laffita during the course of a robbery on March 8, at Providence, East Bank Demerara.

Rowe, a former bar attendant, was not required to plead to the indictable charge, which was read to him by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in Georgetown.

Rowe was subsequently remanded to prison by Chief Magistrate McLennan, who adjourned the matter until April 25th for report.

Laffita, 47, was discovered dead during the wee hours of March 8 on the Providence Public Road, and it was suspected that he was shot during a robbery attempt. He had been last seen alive around 8.30pm on March 7th, when he disembarked a ship which arrived from Trinidad and Tobago.

Providence residents had recalled seeing a person, dressed in a hoodie, riding up to Laffita moments after they heard the sound of a loud explosion, suspected to be a gunshot. The suspect then rode away. Laffita had in his possession a small quantity of cash, which was found intact.