Wayne Gilbert, who had been charged with the 2017 murder of Rawle Rodrigues, was on Monday granted his freedom after Justice Sandil Kissoon found that he had not signed a confession the police claimed he had given.
Gilbert, called ‘Nervous,’ was facing trial before a jury at the Demerara High Court for the January 20, 2017 killing of Rodrigues, who was stabbed during a robbery at the Croal Street bus park on.
Following a voir dire in which it was found that the alleged confession had not been signed by Gilbert and was therefore inadmissible, Justice Kissoon affirmed a no-case submission and directed the jury to return a formal verdict of not guilty in the young man’s favour.
The judge remarked that in an age of technological advancements, the Guyana Police Force needed to start doing appropriate video recordings; while also underscoring that the police witnesses who testified were not full and frank in their disclosures to the court.
The prosecution’s case crumbled, as the alleged confession was the sole evidence on which it was built.
Gilbert had always maintained his innocence of the capital charge.
The former accused was represented by Senior Counsel Stanley Moore, while prosecutor counsel Muntaz Ali led the State’s case.
On the day in question, Rodrigues, 43, formerly of 64, Leopold Street, Werk-en-Rust, Georgetown, was in the vicinity of a bus park at around 9.30 pm 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.
Back in July of last year—two other men—Afibia Yankana and Akeem Haymer were handed life sentences after admitting mid-trial to fatally stabbing Rodrigues during a robbery.
They had originally been arraigned for the capital offence and their trial commenced.
During the trial, however, the jointly-charged duo indicated through their attorneys, their intention to change their pleas.
They were subsequently re-arraigned and pleaded not guilty to murder, but admitted guilt on the lesser charge of manslaughter.
Yankana called “Dougla” and Haymer called “Curry,” accepted that on January 20th, 2017, they unlawfully killed Rodrigues during a robbery.
Rodrigues’ sister, Anastacia Rodrigues, had told Stabroek News that her brother was making his way from the Dairy bus park, where he had been drinking, when he was accosted by two men.
“They traced him from the Dairy bus park and when they attacked him he put up a fight with them… They think he had money on he because they saw he had two phone, a Blu and an iPhone, and they managed to take away the iPhone but he didn’t have anything else on him, just a hundred dollars in the pocket to catch a bus to go home,” his sister had said.
