Neither of the two women seen as key to solving the murder of Kirk Davis testified in the case against Rondy Jagdeo and an eyewitness, who had originally given an incriminating statement, simply vanished without a summons being served on him.
The only evidence linking freed murder accused Jagdeo to the killing of biker Davis was a statement given by the eyewitness, who never turned up to testify, according to sources who say that without this, the case against the businessman was very weak.
The inability of the police to place Jagdeo’s injured wife at the crime scene and find more eyewitnesses, as well as the fact that the area was very dark at time of the shooting also contributed to the eventual collapse of the case.
Following Jagdeo’s discharge two Thursdays ago, questions have been raised as to whether enough had been done to ensure the successful conclusion of the matter at the level of the preliminary inquiry. Fingers are now being pointed at the police for conducting poor investigations into the case. Sources says that the court system had to work with the evidence before it and in this case once the evidence of Rondel Marks (Davis’ friend who reportedly witnessed the shooting) was excluded there was nothing left to ensure that Jagdeo was committed to stand trial in the High Court. Marks, according to reports, may have been coerced by persons close to Jagdeo and has since gone into hiding.
A source with intimate knowledge of the case told Stabroek News recently that the preliminary inquiry began on February 5 with the testimony of Davis’ brother, Randy Davis and another man who was the handyman/ painter at Davis’s home. This newspaper was told that nine witnesses were summoned and all were present except for Marks and Davis’ friend Neliffa Dookie.
Stabroek News was told that the matter was called the following day and both Marks and Dookie were again absent. The source said that it was subsequently revealed that Dookie was out of town and arrangements were made for her to attend court on February 10 to give her evidence. According to what this newspaper was told Dookie was at Davis’ home on the night he was shot. The shooting reportedly took place inside a car which was parked in front of the house. The woman told the police that she was in the bathroom at the time that the shots were fired. However she never showed up for court and could not be contacted.
According to the source, during the preliminary inquiry a number of police witnesses testified but their evidence was not significant enough to stand alone without Marks’ testimony. Stabroek News was told that before every date for which the matter had been fixed, radio messages and summonses were sent out to witnesses. In addition to the two civilian witnesses at least five police witnesses testified.
Sometime in March a woman claiming to be the mother of Marks’ child came to the court with three summonses and said that Marks no longer lived at that address and she did not know where he was. She was told to return to court on March 18 to tell this to the court from the witness box. Although she had promised to return, she never did.
Owing to the fact that the summonses were not served on him directly, the court was unable to issue an arrest warrant for him the source said, adding that none was issued for Dookie as the police were unable to locate her.
According to the source, the matter was adjourned on four occasions (twice in February and twice in March) to allow for the witnesses to come forward.
A female who identified herself as Dookie has since made contact with Stabroek News seeking a retraction for identifying her as Davis’ wife. The woman said that she was a friend and nothing more. She said that what has been published is causing embarrassment to both herself and family. When told that was the information relayed by the prosecution, she said that this was never said in court.
Asked why she never attended court, the woman first said that she got there after the matter had ended two Thursdays ago. When told that the police had her down as a witness, she said she did not know but she acknowledged that she had given a statement to the police at the hospital on the night of the shooting.
Meanwhile the source said that based on what was presented to the court there was no circumstantial evidence to consider in this case. It was pointed out that the police were unable to link Jagdeo’s wife to the scene and while there was a reasonable suspicion that the gunshot she sustained occurred while she was at Eccles, it could not be proven. The source said that even if the matter was sent to the High Court, it would have been challenged there, one of the main grounds being that the area was very dark.
Crime Chief Seelall Persaud had previously told this newspaper that the woman informed the police that she had been shot in Alexander Village. He said police investigated but “we didn’t get anywhere.” He explained that no one in the area recalled hearing a gunshot.
While noting that investigators took a statement from the woman, he said that no warhead was recovered from her body. He said that on the basis of what police were told, the woman was at the centre of the incident which led to the shooting. The woman was under police guard while hospitalized and was arrested following her discharge. She was later released and has been off the radar since then. There are reports that she may have left the country.
The source told Stabroek News that it would have been highly improper to put the woman into the witness box for her to testify as not only has she already said that she was shot elsewhere, but the police have been unable to prove that she is lying.
The source went on to say that the only person whom Marks had identified was Jagdeo. This newspaper was told that according to the man’s statement to the police after Davis entered the car, he heard a woman screaming. That person did not exit the vehicle either before, during or after the gunshots.
The source said too that without Marks the issue of identification would be questionable as the area was extremely dark at the time of the shooting. Identifying Jagdeo as being on the scene would have probably been a difficult to prove, more especially since Marks was the only person pointing a finger at Jagdeo.
The silver car that Jagdeo was said to be driving, the source said, was also an issue as according to what was relayed to the police they were looking “for a needle in a haystack.” Police have not addressed the issue of Jagdeo’s alibi at the time of the shooting. This newspaper was unable to contact any senior rank who could provide information on this.
On the issue of Jagdeo leaving the country, the source added, that the police have not been able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he did leave as there is no immigration record to this effect. Following the shooting, it is strongly believed that Jagdeo fled to Suriname via the backtrack route. This newspaper had been reliably informed that Jagdeo frequented the Dutch-speaking country and knew his way around. This newspaper was also told that he had been spotted there.
Police Commissioner Leroy Brumell who had named Jagdeo as a prime suspect had said that police had made contact with their counterparts in Suriname with regard to locating Jagdeo.
It is believed that before surrendering to police, he returned to Guyana via the backtrack route.
However the source said that the difficulty is getting the evidence from the police file into the courtroom.
Jagdeo had been accused of shooting Davis – his best friend – 16 times on September 3 last. Police Prosecutor Bharrat Mangru had said when Jagdeo first appeared in court that Jagdeo had learnt that Davis had kissed his wife on the neck one evening while in the Palm Court and had gone to Davis’s home to confront him.
Mangru had stated that Jagdeo went to Davis’ home in a silver motor vehicle and instructed the man to enter the vehicle. Mangru told the court that shortly after this, the accused exited the driver’s side of the car, opened the backseat door and shot Davis several times.
The injured man’s body was then dumped out of the vehicle before Jagdeo drove away, Mangru had said.
