The common-law wife of Anthony David, one of the men accused of the robbery of Justice Nicola Pierre and her spouse, on Tuesday corroborated her husband’s claim that he was at home on the night of the attack.
Taking the stand to testify on behalf of David was Shenella Lee, who said on the night of July 8 and leading into the morning of July 9, David was at home with her and her daughter and he never left her side until later in the morning.
David is on trial alongside Daymeion Millington, Nicholas Narine, Premnauth Samaroo and Warren McKenzie on charges that they robbed Justice Pierre and her husband, Mohammed Chan, of cash and articles amounting to over $3.6 million, as well as shot at security guard Ron Peters on July 9, 2015.
Lee said on the morning of July 9, her daughter, who was one-month-old at the time, had an appointment with the paediatrician at St Joseph Mercy Hospital. She said that her husband was the one who drove them to the hospital. While being led in evidence by defence attorney Adrian Thompson, Lee told the court that on July 8 David returned home from work just after 6pm. She said he played with their daughter, took a bath and then went to bed.
Lee told the court that when she found out that David was in jail, she tried to find lawyers who would take the case. She said that it was not until he was charged with robbery that she got a lawyer for him. She said with the help of attorney Lyndon Amsterdam, they managed to get bail for David. Lee told the court that while David was in jail, the police never asked her about his whereabouts on the night of the robbery and they never told her that he committed a crime.
During cross-examination by special prosecutor Nigel Hughes, the witness told the court that David did tell her and his lawyer that he was set up by police, who were named, but he didn’t tell them in those specific words. She said that her husband told her of the plot between the two officers after he was arraigned in court.
Hughes questioned why she did not give a statement to the police if she knew her husband was with her on the night of the robbery. Lee said that she was unaware that she had to give the police a statement. She said in efforts to help her husband, she tried to contact the Police Complaints Authority. She also mentioned that she tried soliciting help from the media. Lee told the court that she told a friend who worked at Stabroek News to do a story but one was never published. The prosecutor questioned Lee on the different avenues in which she could have taken to get help for her husband. He told her since she was living in Hadfield Street, she could have gone to the Guyana Human Rights Association, which she passes almost every day to get home. Lee, in closing, told the court that she tried everything she could to help David.After Lee’s testimony, Thompson closed his case.
Presiding Magistrate Zamilla Ally-Seepaul, before adjourning the matter to May 18, told McKenzie to prepare his defence for the next date.
