Accused Premnauth Samaroo told the court that he was innocent, when the trial of five men charged with the robbery of Justice Nicola Pierre and her family continued yesterday.
After Special Prosecutor Nigel Hughes closed his case, Samaroo, who is represented by attorney-at-law Adrian Thompson, led his defence, giving his account of where he was on the night of the attack and robbery on Justice Nicola Pierre and her family.
Samaroo, Nicholas Narine, Daymeion Millington, Warren McKenzie, and Anthony David are on trial for allegedly robbing the judge and her husband, Mohammed Chan, of cash and articles amounting to over $3.6 million, as well as shooting at security guard Ron Peters on July 9, 2015.
Samaroo told the court that on July 9, 2015, he was in Festival City at a friend playing games on the friend’s Xbox from 8 pm up until 11.30 pm. He said at that time another friend who was at his girlfriend’s place at Agriculture Road on the East Coast called them to say that he wanted Samaroo and two others to drive up and collect him from his girlfriend’s residence.
Samaroo disclosed that the friend who called him was also living in Festival City. He said that he and his friends decided to travel to the East Coast in a car that was not functioning properly. “The car had a slight lil problem. We drive, pick de friend up and when we driving back de car cut off,” Samaroo told the court. He said the driver tried to start it but failed. Samaroo said the car broke down at Better Hope while they were returning to Festival City, after they had picked up the friend from Agriculture Road.
Samaroo said he and his three male companions disembarked the car and decided to push the vehicle all the way back to Georgetown. He said after they made that decision, the driver of the car remembered that he had family living in Plaisance.
Samaroo said that after leaving the car in Plaisance, he and his friends were on the public road waiting to catch a bus when they heard a sound. “All we hear is Boom! Boom! Like gun shots or explosives and we didn’t know something was happening,” he said, adding that a policeman with a big gun ran towards them, arrested them and took them to the Plaisance lock ups, which is the Sparendaam Police Station.
Later that day, the police, Samaroo said, then transported them to the Criminal Investigation Department CID at Eve Leary, where he met Officer Mitchell Caesar and told him what had happened. He said Caesar sent him back to Plaisance and from there he was taken to the Beterverwagting Police Station where he said they told him that he had to be subjected to two identification parades. He said the Police at Beterverwagting, told him that two persons were robbed on July 9. Samaroo said he willingly went on the ID parade that was conducted by the police.
He recounted that the police administered forensic and ballistics tests on him and the vehicle he and his friends used the said night and found nothing. “It was not until I do a third ID parade them man say a guard pointed me out,” Samaroo testified. “I is a innocent man, I don’t know these four men here, they are not my friends,” Samaroo told the court as he ended his testimony.
Before adjourning the trial, Magistrate Zamilla Ally-Seepaul ordered that the names and addresses of the three friends who were with Samaroo on the night of July 9, be provided to the court so that they can be summoned for court within 48 hours.
The trial continues today.
