Theresa Lovell, the woman who was one of the three persons charged with murdering a security guard during a multi-million dollar heist in Lethem in January, has been freed based on the advice of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Lovell was discharged by Magistrate Alan Wilson at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court yesterday, just under two months after she was arraigned on the capital charge for the murder of security guard John Christopher.
News was reliably informed that it was the DPP Shalimar Ali-Hack who advised that the charge against the woman be withdrawn.
Based on what this newspaper was told, the police laid the charge against Lovell, Alvin Kissoon and Calvin King, and later sent the case file to the DPP’s Chambers. After reviewing the evidence, the DPP advised that Lovell not be charged since there was insufficient evidence against her.
The three accused had made their first court appearance before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry on January 22 and were remanded to prison.
The case against them was that between January 18 and January 19, Lovell along with the two other accused entered the post office and attacked two security guards who were on duty, broke into five safes and stole over $9.8M before escaping.
Police Prosecutor Kerry Bostwick in his submissions to the court said that during the robbery the guards were tied up and beaten. Christopher, who had pieces of cloth stuffed in his mouth after he was tied up by the robbers, subsequently died.
The prosecutor told the court that an investigation was launched and the three accused were intercepted with the cash, a quantity of Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) phone cards and two pay slips.
The three suspects were held on January 19 at a Mabura checkpoint. Their cars were searched and the cash was found hidden under the rear seat, police said.
The other security guard, Rudolph Bernard, 62, who was chopped in the head, was admitted as a patient of the Lethem Hospital after the attack
Bernard had told this newspaper that he was doing checks around his work site, when he heard sounds of what appeared to be persons fighting. He said that he went to investigate and the bandits pounced upon him.
“One of them put me on his shoulder and carry me to a room inside. I try to drag myself to the door but my foot was tie,” he recalled, while adding that he did not know his head was burst until he saw blood coming from it while he was in the room. He said that when he was sure that the bandits had left, he began to scream for help but no one came to his rescue.
He said he lay in the room bound until the next morning, when he heard a woman calling for them followed by screams. The police were then summoned and they went into the building and rescued him.
