Magistrate Sueanna Lovell remanded two men charged with malicious wounding with intent to commit murder, when they appeared today in the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.
It is alleged that on November 14, at Georgetown, Shaka Chase, a 27-year-old clothes vendor of Lot 169 East Ruimveldt and 18-year-old Keon Niles, a Sales Assistant of 207 Da Silva Street, Kitty unlawfully and maliciously wounded Dexter Johnson with intent to murder him.
The duo was not required to plead to the indictable charge when they appeared before acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry.
Prosecutor Lionel Harvey told the court that the two accused have been known to the VC for about eight years. On the day in question, at 11 am, the VC was proceeding west along a dam on Mandela Avenue when he was allegedly confronted by a group of men including the two accused who were both armed with handguns.
The duo allegedly fired shots in the VC’s direction as he tried to escape by running west along the dam. The two accused gave chase and the VC was allegedly shot in the lower abdomen. He was taken to the Georgetown hospital and was admitted as a patient of the High Dependency Unit (HDU) in an unconscious state and later underwent surgery.
The prosecution told the court that Johnson remains a patient at the hospital and the matter was transferred to Court Two for reports and fixtures.
Niles’s attorney, Nigel Hughes applied for reasonable bail for his client however it was overruled by Magistrate Lowell who considered that the VC remains hospitalised in the HDU.
The two accused were ordered to return to court on December 12.
Johnson had told Stabroek News that it was clear that the attack, which occurred at his Phase 1 Mandela Avenue residence, was an attempt on his life and he pleaded with the police to catch his attackers.
“Yeah, they wanted to kill me. I ain’t had no problem with anyone. No family ain’t got no problem with them. We ain’t had no problem with nobody,” Johnson said. “Ah want de police get them,” he added. Members of Johnson’s family, at the scene, had said that the man’s two sons had previous conflicts with the attackers.
Crime Chief Seelall Persaud, in a brief telephone interview, said that the attack was carried out by a gang of seven men, three of whom had guns. He said that information led to the arrest of one of the suspects, who was held with a gun.
Persaud added that there is nothing to suggest a motive, but noted that there was an argument prior to the attack.
