A 20-year-old convict who is currently serving a sentence for unlawful escape from custody, was on Friday remanded to prison, after he appeared in court to face two counts of discharging a loaded firearm at cops, along with two counts of illegal possession of firearm and ammunition.
Stemming from an incident in 2017, Melvor Jeffrey, also known as Marlon Jeffrey, faced four charges, which were read by Magistrate Leron Daly at a city court.
One of the charges alleged that on July 11, 2017, at Cooper Street, Agricola, East Bank Demerara, Jeffrey discharged a loaded firearm at Romell Cato, a police officer acting in execution of his duty, with intent to maim, disfigure, disable or cause grievous bodily harm, to prevent lawful apprehension of himself.
Another charge alleges that on the same date and location, Jeffrey discharged a loaded firearm at David Bobb, a police officer acting in the execution of his duty, with intent to maim, disfigure, disable or cause grievous bodily harm, in an attempt to prevent lawful apprehension of himself.
It was further alleged that on July 11, 2017, at Cooper Street, Agricola, East Bank Demerara, Jeffrey had in his possession a 12-gauge shotgun, without lawful authority.
The last charge alleged that on the same date and location, Jeffrey had in his possession two rounds of 12-gauge cartridges, without lawful authority.
It was related to the court by Prosecutor Sanj Singh that on the day in question, acting on information concerning the murder of Tedroy Neil, the police responded to the scene and upon arrival, a confrontation ensued between the police and Jeffrey and other suspects.
Several rounds were then discharged in the direction of police constable David Bobb and Romell Cato. The suspects were subsequently apprehended, one being Jeffrey, who had a 12-gauge shotgun and five rounds of 12-gauge cartridges. He was questioned and admitted to the charges mentioned above.
Prosecutor Singh objected to bail, citing the fact that Jeffrey is currently serving a sentence for escaping police custody and the serious nature of the allegations.
Jeffrey was subsequently remanded to prison and will return to court on May 31, 2019.
It was previously reported that Jeffrey also sustained several gunshot wounds during the confrontation with police and was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he then escaped after noticing that the policeman guarding him was not at his post.
