Third man charged with murdering city mall owner

The third accused in the gunning down of Regent Multiplex mall owner Ganesh Ramlall was yesterday brought before a city court and charged with the murder.

Kurt Erskine, 35, a welder/seaman of Lot 285 Section ‘C,’ Golden Grove, East Bank Demerara, was charged with murdering Ramlall in the course of the furtherance of a robbery.

 Ganesh Ramlall
Ganesh Ramlall

The charge stated that he committed the crime on July 5th, 2015, at La Jalousie, West Coast Demerara.

Erskine, a father of two, was not required to plead to the indictable charge.

 Kurt Erskine
Kurt Erskine

Police prosecutor Deniro Jones told the court that the file for the matter was complete and two other persons were previously charged with the murder.

Erskine’s attorney, Lyndon Amsterdam, said that his client was taken by surprise at the charge. The lawyer went on to say that even though two men have already been charged with the murder, no wanted bulletin was issued for Erskine by the police.

Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan remanded Erskine to prison. His matter was transferred to the Leonora Magistrate’s Court, where he is expected to face a preliminary inquiry into the charge against him and the two other accused, Faizal Bacchus and Lennox Roberts, on March 29th.

Ramlall, owner of the Regent Multiplex Mall, located at the corner of Regent and Wellington streets, had just returned home around 12.20 am and was coming from a washroom near to his house when he was confronted by four men, who shot him at least seven times, including once to his head. They took away his licensed firearm, jewellery and wallet and then escaped.