Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Shalimar Ali-Hack has directed the reopening of the preliminary inquiry into the charge against Regan Rodrigues for the murder of political activist Courtney Crum-Ewing.
According to a statement issued by the DPP’s office yesterday, Ali-Hack has remitted the case to Magistrate Judy Latchman for re-opening.
It noted that the sole purpose of the remit is to take further evidence from police witnesses and to rule on the voluntariness of all oral statements of the accused. The matter will be prosecuted by Special Prosecutor Nigel Hughes.
It has been six months since Rodrigues, known as ‘Grey Boy,’ was discharged by Latchman at the conclusion of the preliminary inquiry into the charge that he murdered Crum-Ewing on March 10th, 2015, in Diamond Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara.
Stabroek News was told by a reliable source that it was only this week that the depositions for the matter were sent to the DPP’s Chambers and this is the reason for the six-month gap between the ruling and her direction for the inquiry to be reopened, in keeping with the Criminal Law (Procedure) Act.
Attorney Adrian Thompson, who represented Rodrigues during the preliminary inquiry, told Stabroek News yesterday that he was unaware of the DPP’s decision to reopen the case and expressed his surprise at the development. “The magistrate went through the entire matter and made all the necessary rulings… and I am satisfied with her decision,” he told this newspaper.
Crum-Ewing, 40, a father of three, was gunned down while he was urging residents in Diamond to vote at the upcoming elections.
In handing down her decision, Magistrate Latchman had said there was no evidence that suggested to the court that Rodrigues was the one who pulled the trigger on the night when Crum-Ewing was murdered.
She said that throughout the case the accused and the supposed evidence against him never implicated him in the murder.
Rodrigues was charged in July, 2015 with unlawful possession of a pistol and 14 live rounds of ammunition. The gun was reported to have been linked to the murder of Crum-Ewing and formed the basis for the murder charge. However, the charge for the weapon did not stick.
The prosecution’s case was that the weapon and ammunition were found on July 13th, 2015 at Riverview, Ruimveldt, where the police searched the home of the accused.
They conducted a search on Rodrigues’ person but found nothing. They then proceeded to search the house and it was there, under a chair, that they discovered the firearm and ammunition. Rodrigues was arrested but police said that as he was being escorted out, he pushed one of the officers down and escaped. He later turned himself in at the Criminal Investigation Department.
At the conclusion of his trial for unlawful possession of the gun and ammunition in January last year, Rodrigues was cleared by Magistrate Fabayo Azore, who stated that the prosecution had failed to prove that he had had knowledge and possession of the articles. She did, however, sentence him to three years in jail for escaping custody after his lawful arrest.
At an event to commemorate the two year anniversary of Crum-Ewing’s death last week, his stepfather, Eustace Harcourt, lamented the family’s long wait for justice, while stating that the perpetrators of his son’s death were known and roaming free. He expressed hope that there would be a “clean out” of the court system and that the government would ensure that a proper investigation is conducted into his son’s death.
“And it’s just strange that the police force does go out and find some crime that they discover a man in the dump and they trace it till they find the righted people. Wah happen to this one? Because it’s political? Because it’s who the perpetrators be? If you for law and order, law and order can’t just be for the ordinary poor man. You cannot stop crime if you only charge certain people,” he stated.
“… All the perpetrators are still here walking about. All of them are still here; you see them daily pon the road, and it does hurt. It hurts very much… Two years have passed, it’s like there’s still a dark cloud hanging over me house. When them children wake pon a morning, you come out, you keep wondering wah gon eventually be the outcome of this. As long as I am alive, I’m gonna pursue this. This is the second year, even if it meet the 202nd year, I’d be still here standing because justice got to prevail,” Harcourt added.
