Security guard Ron Peters, who was shot at by the bandits fleeing after their robbery of land court judge Nicola Pierre and her husband, said he opened fire on the men after they attempted to hijack a passing car.
Peters was among four witnesses who took the stand yesterday when the trial of the five accused, Warren McKenzie, Nicholas Narine, Daymeion Millington, Premnauth Samaroo and Anthony David, continued at the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court.
The men are jointly charged with robbing Justice Pierre and her husband, Mohamed Chan, as well as shooting at Peters.
Peters, who had been assigned to the judge and her husband for five years, said on the morning of the attack he was in his guard hut at the southern-side of the judge’s house, when he noticed six men walking through the street.
One of the men, he said, was carrying a square object, another had a suitcase and another had a bag. The six men, he said, made their way from the street onto the public road, where they proceeded to hide by some vehicles that were parked on the southern side of the road.
Peters said one of the men eventually emerged from their assumed hiding positions and stood on the road as though he was trying to stop a vehicle. The witness added that as a vehicle came closer, he saw the man put his hand to the right side of his waist and then he heard a loud explosion.
At this point, Peters said, the vehicle drove faster, while the same man on the road pointed to him and shouted, “Don’t call nobody if you want a shootout!”
Peters, who was armed with an AR-15 rifle, told the court that he then took cover and discharged three rounds in the man’s direction. He said the man was standing approximately 80 feet away from him.
After he fired, he added, the five men who were still in hiding emerged and started to fire shots in his direction. “I then returned fire, where I discharged seven shots. The men then ran through the street opposite the compound,” Peters added, while noting that they left the items they had been carrying when he first spotted them.
Peters told the court that when it was over, he informed Chan of what happened. He said when the police came, they recovered two spent shells and the items that were left behind by the men at the scene.
Also taking the stand yesterday was Phillip Lewis, a businessman who had been driving the vehicle that came under fire.
Lewis told the court that he was driving along on the East Coast public road at around 2am. He said he saw five men running along the East Coast public road, then he saw a sixth holding what appeared to be a pistol.
According to Lewis, the man holding the pistol then shouted at him and showed signs of wanting him [Lewis] to stop the vehicle. Lewis said he then took evasive action by accelerating and leaning forward. Soon after he heard a gunshot and later felt a burning in his upper right shoulder. He told the court that he was grazed to his right shoulder.
Lewis drove to a police station to report that he was shot. He added that the police issued a medical certificate to him and then checked his vehicle, where they later discovered a warhead in a rear door.
Also taking the stand was Police Constable Kerwin Osborne, who was attached to Sparendaam Police Station at the time of the attack. He corroborated the testimonies given by Peters and Lewis. Osborne told the court that when Lewis came to him and said he was shot in the vicinity of Montrose, he went to the area and then to the home at Montrose, where he met Peters and Justice Pierre.
At the scene, he and the security guard searched the area and found the items left behind by the six men and two spent shells. Osborne also recounted that when he searched Lewis’ vehicle, he recovered a warhead in a door of the car.
Assistant Superinten-dent Simeon Reid took the stand last and detailed the identification parades that were conducted for Justice Pierre via Skype while she was in Canada. Reid admitted to the court that in the first identification parade, Justice Pierre did not identify Millington, who was in the line-up. During the second ID parade, he said, she identified Narine and not David, who was also present.
According to Reid, when Narine heard his name being called as a suspect in the robbery, he broke down and cried uncontrollably.
Reid is expected to continue his testimony when the trial resumes on Monday. Magistrate Zamilla Ally-Seepaul requested that all four witnesses return for re-examination by attorney Adrian Thompson, who by way of a letter informed the court that he would be available then.
It is alleged that on July 9, 2015, the five men robbed Justice Pierre of articles including watches, a tablet, video game consoles and games, a phone, a laptop and a quantity of gold and gemstones, all amounting to a total value of $1 million. It is also alleged that they robbed Chan of five watches, a wedding ring, four Oakley sunglasses, two leather wallets, a Samsung S5 cellphone and US$8,000, all amounting $2,630, 000.
