Devon Alleyne and Rodrick Thomas, the two men accused of fatally shooting taxi driver Kelvin Walters more than a year ago, were freed on Thursday after a city magistrate upheld no-case submissions made by their lawyers.
In February 2019, both men were charged separately for Walters’ murder, which occurred on January 22nd, 2019, at Eccles Public Road, East Bank Demerara.
The matter was heard before Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus.
Alleyne was represented by attorney Dexter Todd, while Thomas was represented by attorney Latchmie Rahamat.
Todd yesterday told Stabroek News that during the preliminary inquiry into the charge, all of the prosecution’s witnesses testified except for an eyewitness, who did not show up in court.
As a result, he said the state did not have enough evidence to establish a prima facie case against the accused.
“The court was compelled to uphold the no case submission that was made by myself for my client and by Ms Rahamat for her client because the state did not establish a prima facie case against the accused persons,” Todd said.
“Outside of this lone eyewitness, who they said they have, no other witness came to give any evidence directly relating to the alleged shooting. All the other witnesses, even the police investigators ventured down the line of a circumstance basis. It was not strong even to prove that these persons who were charged were the culprits of the shooting… and for that reason the magistrate upheld the no-case submission,” he added.
Police had said that Walters, who was travelling south along the eastern carriageway of the road in his car, PXX 1509, with his wife and child, was shot by a man on a motorcycle.
While in the vicinity of the Two Brothers Service Station, the police said, two men on the motorcycle turned in front of Walters’ vehicle and the pillion rider whipped out a handgun and shot him in the face.
Nevertheless, Walters managed to hit the suspects with his car. The two men fled on foot. The motorcycle and a firearm with 14 live rounds were left behind at the crime scene, where they were later recovered by the police.
The motive of the shooting remains unknown.
However, Walters was a witness in the case of a grenade being found outside the offices of the Kaieteur News at Saffon Street, Charlestown, on June 4, 2016. Walters had testified in the preliminary inquiry into the charge against the accused in that crime. That matter is set to come up in the High Court later this year.
