Former cop accused of derailing murder case

-after skipping court

A former police officer was on Monday charged with causing a murder case to be dismissed by absenting himself from court when he was due to testify.

The accused, Henry Clement, appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in a Georgetown court, where he was charged with obstruction of justice.

It is alleged that Clement, between July 15, 2020 and October 21, 2020, willfully obstructed the course of Justice by absenting himself from court after being warned to give evidence in the case of the State versus Devon Alleyne, also known as ‘Big Head’ and Rodrick Thomas, also known as ‘Roger,’ for the offence of murder committed on Kelvin Walters.

He was granted bail in the sum of $70,000 with the conditions that he report to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) every Monday and stay 50 feet away from the witness.

He is to make his next court appearance on July 8th, 2021.

The court prosecutor informed the court that Clement, who was stationed at the Brickdam Police Station and attached to the Impact Base, willfully absented himself from court, resulting in the case being dismissed.

Alleyne and Thomas, the two men accused of fatally shooting taxi driver Walters, were freed in October of 2020 after a city magistrate upheld no-case submissions made by their lawyers.

During the preliminary inquiry into the charge, all of the prosecution’s witnesses testified except for an eyewitness, who did not show up in court. As a result, he said the state did not have enough evidence to establish a prima facie case against the accused.

In February 2019, both men were separately charged with Walters’ murder, which occurred on January 22, 2019, at Eccles Public Road, East Bank Demerara.

Police had said that Walters, who was travelling south along the eastern carriageway of the road in his car, PXX 1509, with his wife and child, was shot by a man on a motorcycle.

While in the vicinity of the Two Brothers Service Station, the police said, two men on the motorcycle turned in front of Walters’ vehicle and the pillion rider whipped out a handgun and shot him in the face.

Nevertheless, Walters managed to hit the suspects with his car. The two men fled on foot. The motorcycle and a firearm with 14 live rounds were left behind at the crime scene, where they were later recovered by the police.

The motive for the shooting remains unknown.

Walters was a witness in the case of a grenade being found outside the offices of the Kaieteur News at Saffon Street, Charlestown, on June 4, 2016.  Walters had testified in the preliminary inquiry into the charge against the accused in that crime.