Murder accused Wayne Chester is now awaiting sentencing after being found guilty of the 2017 murder of Guyanese, French Guiana-based clothes vendor, Purcell Moore, who was shot dead during a robbery.
Following the conclusion of his trial last week and deliberations by a jury, the panel returned a unanimous verdict, finding Chester called ‘Smokey,’ guilty as charged for the murder.
Justice Sandil Kissoon has, however, deferred sentencing to first hear from a probation and other social impact reports.
Chester had been charged along with co-accused Kelvin Persaud and Selwyn Dawson who; in the middle of the trials in June of 2021, pleaded guilty to their respective roles in the killing.
The two had been indicted for the capital charge of murder, but pleaded to the lesser offence of manslaughter which was accepted by the State and Court.
The trio had shot and killed Moore after robbing him of his gold chain on the morning of December 20th, 2017, at Old Road, Craig, East Bank Demerara.
Persaud and Dawson who were both sentenced to life in prison, have since filed appeals, arguing that the sentences were too severe.
Justice Kissoon who had presided over their matters as well, ordered that they spend 15 years in jail before being considered for parole.
Background
Moore was shot and killed by the bandits as they attempted to relieve him of his gold chain.
According to reports, he was returning to his parents’ Lot 28 First Street, Craig, EBD house when he was attacked by the three, who attempted to relieve him of the gold chain he was wearing.
Moore reportedly attempted to fend off the bandits and was shot in the process. He subsequently collapsed and the men fled the scene.
Two spent shells of a small calibre weapon were recovered at the scene.
A police detective who lives in the area where the fatal shooting occurred had testified to seeing Dawson and Persaud, whom he said he knew well from the community, fleeing the scene after the shooting.
The detective, Andre Higgins, had told the court that they each then got onto bicycles and fled the scene riding in his direction.
As they got closer to him, Higgins had said he recognized the third person whom he said he also knows and identified by the name Wayne Chester called ‘Smokey,’ stuffing “a black firearm in his pants waist.”
He had said that as the young men rode past looking at him and he at them; he said nothing to them nor did they say anything to him. He said they proceeded to the public road where he eventually lost sight of them.
Moore had arrived home in Guyana for vacation from Cayenne, French Guiana only a few days before he was shot and killed.
