Almost two years after three members of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) were slapped with a total of 50 fraud charges in connection with the forgery of driver’s licences, the charges were dismissed by Principal Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus after the prosecution failed to present sufficient evidence against them.
Ryan Gray, Shenese Fraser and Alfred Parks were before Principal Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus, who was presiding over the trial.
The 12 charges against Parks alleged that on April 12, 2018, at the Felix Austin Police College, he conspired with others to forge questionnaires for persons who did not sit the driver’s examination.
Gray faced 20 charges which alleged that on April 12, 2018, with intent to defraud the public, he conspired with persons to commit a misdemeanour, that is to say, he uttered questionnaires, knowing them to be forged, in that they were not written by the persons listed.
Meanwhile, the 18 charges against Fraser stated that on April 12, 2018, with intent to defraud the public, she conspired with persons to commit a misdemeanour, that is to say, she uttered questionnaires, knowing them to be forged, in that they were not written by the persons listed.
When the trio was brought before Principal Magistrate Isaacs-Marcus on February 28, she upheld a no-case submission which was previously made by the three accused’s lawyer Patrice Henry. Hence, the charges were dismissed.
In 2018, the Guyana Police Force had announced that the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) had launched an investigation into “seemingly massive irregularities” in the driver’s examination after a report was made to then acting Commissioner of Police David Ramnarine by a senior pastor, who had received complaints from a colleague who invigilated at the examination.
A statement from the police force had explained that while a total of 174 persons registered to write the examination, only 106 presented themselves on the day in question. However, 207 scripts were subsequently received at the conclusion of the examination, 155 of which were completed.
