Former Guyana Defence Force soldier Mark Fraser was found guilty of manslaughter in the High Court yesterday over the killing of another soldier at an East Coast camp five years ago.
Nearly three weeks after his trial commenced before Justice Winston Patterson, a jury found the accused guilty of the October 26, 2006 killing of Oneal Rollins at an army base at Buxton. Sentencing was deferred to month-end and a probation report was ordered.
The defence argued that it was a case of accidental shooting on the day in question but the prosecution contended that Fraser acted recklessly, resulting in Rollin’s death. On the day of the incident, Fraser was going out on patrol duty and went to uplift his gun. While in the process of doing this he came into contact with Rollins.
Fraser was represented by attorneys-at-law Nigel Hawke and Kamal Ramkarran while state counsel Melissa Yearwood-Stewart appeared for the prosecution.
