A man alleged to be the second gunman in the Cool Square Bar murder made an appearance yesterday in the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court, where he proclaimed his innocence and said he had an alibi.
Dwaine Critchlow, a 27-year-old miner of Vigilance, East Coast Demerara was not required to plead to the indictable charge of murder.
The charge read by Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson stated that Critchlow on March 3 at Georgetown murdered Rawle Harding.
Critchlow vehemently denied any knowledge of the charge telling the magistrate he was not even in Georgetown on the day Harding was murdered.
“Me aint know nothing bout this. I innocent in this case ya know, ma worship,” Critchlow pleaded from the dock.
Clad in a vest and jeans, Critchlow told the magistrate that he was in Bartica since February 27 and returned to Georgetown on March 7 when he was held by the police who told him that he “shoot some man at Orange Walk.”
Critchlow went on to say that the man caught on tape in relation to the Cool Square Bar murder had a tattoo and “they saying is some man looking like me kill this man.”
Critchlow also told the magistrate that persons from Bartica had submitted statements to the police station there supporting that he had been in Bartica but he was told that they would have to come to Georgetown to give statements.
“Why me, ma worship?” Critchlow asked as he again told the magistrate, “me aint know what going on.” He then said that some man called ‘Devo’ was the person identified in the tapes but was set free. “All this thing bout money they let the real man go and somebody innocent gah tek the fall,” Critchlow said.
After listening to the accused, the magistrate told him that he would have to get a lawyer and he responded with a frustrated nod and asked for an early date. Critchlow is to return to Court Two on March 31, the same date given to the other murder accused, Junior Bourne. In the meantime, he was also remanded to prison.
According to Police Prosecutor Inspector Stephen Telford, the prosecution is awaiting the DPP’s advice on the way forward in both matters. Harding was murdered on March 3 during the robbery of Cool Square Bar.
Harding, along with his cousin Clarence Roberts, 56, and a taxi driver were at the bar when two men entered and purchased beverages. They subsequently pulled out guns and confronted Harding and his cousin and one of them held on to a gold chain Harding was wearing. When he resisted, he was shot in the abdomen.
Harding was rushed to the Georgetown Hospital, where he succumbed while receiving medical attention. The gunmen had also robbed Roberts and the bar’s cash register.
The incident was caught on surveillance cameras and in the footage seen by Stabroek News, the bandits took seats and ordered drinks. Then one of the gunmen pulled out a handgun and pointed it at Harding. Harding, who had recently suffered an injury to his foot, stood up, held on to the gunman and was shot.
The video footage showed the gunman with his weapon in hand searching Harding’s pockets before jumping over the bar counter and emptying the cash register. The second gunman was clad in a black t-shirt and wore a white cap but his face was obscured.
Harding had flown to Guyana on February 17 after attending carnival in Trinidad. The father of three had migrated to Canada in 2007.
