A former employee of Ricardo Henriques, the US-based businessman who was murdered in Middle Street on Monday night, and a goldsmith, appeared at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court yesterday charged with the man’s murder.
Junior Henry, 25, of Lot 58 West Ruimveldt Estate, Georgetown and Baldeo Seegobin, 31, of 97 West Ruimveldt Housing Scheme, Georgetown were not required to plead to the indictable charge of murder, read to them by Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson.
It is alleged that on November 24, Henry and Seegobin murdered Henriques.
Henry, who told the court he was a porter at Henriques’ D’Urban Street variety store, informed the court that Basil Williams was his attorney. Vic Puran, who was present at the proceedings yesterday, represented Seegobin.
Puran made four submissions to the court. According to the attorney his client was beaten; a plastic bag containing a noxious substance was placed over his head; his mother was denied visitation; the police refused to take a report from another attorney and they also refused to take a statement from him in relation to his alibi.
Seegobin was beaten by members of the Guyana Police Force, Puran stated, and he requested that the magistrate record his submissions “lest it be labelled as fabrication at the time of the trial.”
Further, Puran told the court that a plastic bag containing a noxious substance was placed over Seegobin’s head and this caused him to become “giddy”.
“If the police have decided that people have committed crimes then it’s best they kill them….Killing them is better than torturing them,” Puran told the court.
According to Puran, his client knows one of the officers who assaulted him and he is in a position to identify the others. The attorney reminded the court that Acting Police Commissioner Henry Greene had said that magistrates have to order investigations into such matters and suggested that action be taken.
Seegobin, the lawyer said, was also forced to sign a prepared statement and while he was in custody for a number of days his mother was denied visitation. In addition, Puran said, the police refused to investigate or take a statement from Seegobin in relation to his alibi.
In addressing Puran’s submissions, Police Prosecutor Denise Griffith said if the police are of the view that granting visitation by a relative or friend of the accused will threaten their investigation then they can exercise their right to deny visitation.
With regard to Puran’s submission that the police refused to take a statement from the accused in relation to his alibi the prosecutor said she had no such instructions. According to Griffith, there are certain redresses which the defence can take in such cases.
Given the circumstances, the prosecutor requested that the matter be adjourned for report and fixture. This application was granted by the magistrate.
The men were remanded to prison and they have to appear again in court on January 20. Henriques, 31, of D’Urban Street, Werk-en-Rust was shot in the head at point blank range just outside a Lotto booth on Middle Street during a robbery. The shooting occurred at approximately 7 pm on Monday and Henriques was later pronounced dead on arrival at Georgetown Public Hospital.
