No-case submissions were made on Friday for the three men charged in relation to the Ramada Princess Casino robbery committed in 2017.
It is alleged that Wayne Griffith, Junior Stewart and Andrew Blackman, while being in the company of others and armed with guns, robbed cashiers of $8,951,000, which was the property of the Princess Casino, on April 29, 2017, at Providence, East Bank Demerara.
The trio are on trial before Principal Magistrate Judy Latchman.
During Friday’s court hearing, attorney George Thomas, who represented Griffith, stated that the prosecution failed to prove that the $8,951,000 was taken from the cashiers, who never testified in the matter. He argued that the prosecution failed to prove its case against Griffith and urged the court not to call upon him to lead a defence.
Attorney Stanley Moore adopted the submissions made by Thomas, noting that the only evidence against his client, Blackman, was a caution statement that was not written or detailed by him, but by the police. He further stated that none of the articles found in Blackman’s possession were items from the casino.
Stewart, who represented himself, told the court that the prosecution did not make out a good case against him. He added that the only evidence against him is a caution statement, which was proven by the court to not have been given freely and voluntarily. Following the submissions, the prosecution requested a date to respond to the points made. The request was granted by the Magistrate and the matter later adjourned.
Previous reports indicate that four gunmen entered
the casino and discharged rounds into the air. They held up the security guard who was on duty and took away his shotgun and ammunition, then proceeded to the cashiers, whom they relieved of foreign and local currency.
During the attack, four casino employees—Eon Garraway, Gregory, Orlando Knights and Udairan Sookraj—were shot. Lance Corporal 17352 Andrew Richardson, who is attached to the Brickdam Impact Base, was also shot during a gunfight with the men, while responding to a report of the robbery.
