A city magistrate yesterday committed former prison escapee Wayne Gilbert to stand trial for the 2017 murder of a Leopold Street resident at a city bus park.
The charge against the accused alleges that on January 20th, 2017, at Croal Street, Stabroek, he murdered Rawle Rodrigues in the course or furtherance of a robbery.
When the preliminary inquiry into the murder charge against Gilbert continued yesterday before Senior Magistrate Leron Daly, prosecutor Richard Harris made closing arguments. The prosecutor encouraged the court to find that sufficient evidence was led to call upon the accused to lead his defence in the matter.
Subsequently, Magistrate Daly ruled that all oral statements made by the accused were given freely and voluntarily. She then asked Gilbert if he wished to say anything in answer to the charge, to which he responded yes and proceeded to do same.
Gilbert then heard that he was committed to stand trial at the next practicable sitting of the Demerara Assizes. He will remain on remand until that time.
Rodrigues, 43, of 64, Leopold Street, Werk-en-Rust, Georgetown, was in the vicinity of a bus park at around 9.30 pm on the day in question when he had an altercation with two men. One of the men later stabbed him in the chest. Rodrigues was subsequently rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
