Additional legal issues that have surfaced have caused another delay in the start of the Bartica massacre trial, which is now set to commence tomorrow.
The matter, which is before Justice Roxane George at the High Court in Georgetown, was scheduled to commence on Friday morning after the judge would have handed down her ruling regarding pretrial legal matters.
However, new legal issues arose on Friday, resulting in a further delay.
The court is expected to dispense with these matters today. Meanwhile, the jurors were asked to return tomorrow for possible empanelment and commencement of the trial.
Mark Royden Williams, called ‘Durant Williams,’ Dennis Williams, called ‘Anaconda,’ Clebert Reece, called ‘Chi Chi,’ Michael Caesar and Roger Simon were committed to stand trial back in 2011 for the murders of nine civilians and three policemen, which were carried out on February 17, 2008 in Bartica.
Additionally, the quintet was also arraigned on one count of terrorism, one count of unlawful wounding and three counts of break and enter and larceny. The trial into these charges will be conducted subsequent to the murder trial.
The charges against the quintet stem from an hour-long attack at Bartica on the night of February 17, which was reportedly carried out by some 20 gunmen.
The gunmen had attacked the police station first, killing three policemen and freeing prisoners. They then took the vehicle assigned to the police station and went on a rampage, terrorising the community and murdering the nine others. According to reports, the gunmen arrived in the area by boat and departed in similar fashion, taking with them firearms they had grabbed from the police station and from a mining company.
Those who lost their lives were Lance Corporal Zaheer Zakir and Constables Shane Fredericks and Ron Osborne, who were stationed at the Bartica Police Station; Bartica residents Edwin Gilkes, Dexter Adrian and Irving Ferreira; Deonarine Singh of Wakenaam; Ronald Gomes of Kuru Kururu; Ashraf Khan of Middlesex, Essequibo; Abdool Yasseen; Errol Thomas of Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo; and Baldeo Singh of Montrose, East Coast Demerara.
The attack on the Bartica community came amidst heightened security across the country following the slaughter of 11 people at Lusignan, East Coast Demerara three weeks earlier.
Defence attorneys Peter Hugh, Maxwell McKay, Saphier Hussain, Madan Kissoon and Roger Yearwood will be representing Simon, Caesar, Dennis Williams, Reece and Mark Williams, respectively.
Meanwhile, the prosecution will be led by state counsel Diana Kaulesar in association with attorneys Narissa Leander and Tuanna Hardy.
