The charge against Maryann Daby, who was accused of attempting to murder a Police Constable by pointing a gun to his head and pulling the trigger, was today dismissed after a city magistrate ruled that the prosecution’s case was not credible.
The charge against Daby, 26, of Lot 127 D’Aguiar Park, Houston, alleged that on May 13th, 2018, at the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club (GMR&SC), located at Albert Street and Thomas Lands, Georgetown, with intent to commit murder, she discharged a loaded firearm at Constable 24785 Christopher Kissoon.
The preliminary inquiry (PI) into the charge against Daby was conducted by Senior Magistrate Leron Daly in Georgetown.
Magistrate Daly yesterday ruled that a prima facie case was not made out against Daby and noted that the testimonies of policemen Kissoon, John Holder, Gary McAllister and one of the arresting ranks were “conflicting and not credible.”
She went on to highlight a number of reasons why she discharged the matter. In regards to Kissoon’s testimony, the magistrate said that she could not link his story to Daby after he admitted during cross-examination that no spent shells were found at the scene and he was unable to identify the accused during the said time due to the fact that he was intoxicated. She also said that there was no video surveillance to support the story.
The magistrate went on to say that she was forced to disregard the testimony of John Holder because when Holder was questioned by Prosecutor Richard Harris during the PI, Holder told the court that after submitting his original statement, his superior officer Gary McAllister allegedly told him to change it so it would be in sync with Kissoon’s statement. In addition, the magistrate stated that during his testimony, Holder told the court that he did not see Daby discharge the gun nor was he certain about the identity of the accused.
In relation to McAllister, the magistrate revealed that the .32 pistol and .32 ammunition which McAllister said he placed in the evidence bag during his statement were not the same when the said evidence bag was presented to court during the PI hearing.
Immediately after the magistrate discharged Daby, Harris requested that the two remaining charges against Daby be transferred to another court for trial, while saying he believed that the ruling on the attempted murder charge would cause the court to be prejudiced in relation to the two charges. Magistrate Daly, however, said that the Chief Magistrate will have to make the decision as to whether to transfer the case to another court. She then told Daby to return to court on July 30th for report on those two charges.
It is alleged that on May 13th, 2018, at Albert Street and Thomas Lands, Georgetown, Daby had a .32 pistol and six .32 rounds in her possession without being the holder of a firearm licence.
Police had said that Constable Kissoon was at the GMR&SC when he heard gunshots. On checking what was taking place, the constable allegedly saw Daby and went to speak to her. Daby became annoyed, allegedly put the gun to his head and squeezed the trigger. However, the weapon did not go off.
