Rondell Bacchus will have to face a new trial after a jury yesterday failed to reach a unanimous verdict on his guilt in the murder of scrap iron dealer Akbar Alli.
After more than three hours, the 12 members of the jury returned and informed Justice Navindra Singh that they were unable to reach a unanimous verdict on Bacchus’s guilt in the July 24, 2008 murder.
As a result, it was ordered that Bacchus be returned to the Georgetown Prisons, where he will remain until the next available opportunity for him to stand a second trial.
Stabroek News was told that the jury went into deliberations nearing 12:30 pm and returned close to 4 pm.
Bacchus, this newspaper was told, was expressionless and appeared calm when it was announced that there was a hung jury.
Justice Singh presided over the matter while attorney Peter Hugh represented Bacchus. Prosecutors Konyo Thompson and Dhanika Singh lead the state’s case.
Bacchus, of ‘C’ Field, Sophia, was charged along with Andrew Morris, with the murder of Alli.
The duo had allegedly used a gun to rob the wife of the deceased, Bibi Hydar Alli, of $2.1 million in cash and fatally shot her husband in the process. The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had subsequently withdrawn the charge against Morris due to the lack of evidence.
Alli and his wife had gone to a city bank to do business. They later went to Brickdam with the intention of transacting business with an auto dealer when they were robbed at gunpoint by two men on a motorcycle.
On Thursday, the main witness, Alli’s wife, testified via an audio-visual link from New York where she now resides. It was the first time testimony was taken in such a manner in a local criminal matter.
