12 NEWS Man crushed to death at Houston worksite by excavator A TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM
worker was crushed to death on Monday by an excavator while working at the Guyana Shore Base Incorporated site at Houston, Greater Georgetown. Dead is Royton Souvenir, 49, of Canal Number One Polder, West Bank Demerara (WBD). The victim was allegedly employed with a third-party contractor at the worksite. The accident would have occurred after 13:00h in the full view of other employees. He was reportedly killed by the excavator, which was op-
erating on a pontoon at the time. Police stated that on the day in question, the now dead man was standing at the back of an excavator unknown to the operator. However, he turned the excavator and hit Souvenir to his chest and abdomen, causing him to fall to the ground. The injured victim was picked up and taken to the St Joseph Mercy Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. When Guyana Times visited the scene, eyewitnesses
The worksite at the Guyana Shore Base location where the accident occurred
Man convicted of murdering ex-lover asks Appeal Court to reduce sentence
Convicted: Jermaine Maynard
J
ermaine Maynard, 48, who was sentenced to 88 years’ imprisonment back in 2016 for murdering his 20-year-old ex-girlfriend, Carlissa Matthews, has moved to the Guyana Court of Appeal requesting for his sentence to be reduced. Following a trial before Justice Navindra Singh at the Demerara High Court, a jury
found Maynard guilty of the charge, which stated that he murdered Carlissa Matthews between December 31, 2013, and January 1, 2014, at Croal Street, Georgetown. Dissatisfied with the decision of the High Court, Maynard is now asking the Court of Appeal to reduce his sentence which he deems as being manifestly excessive and not in keeping with established sentencing guidelines. During a brief hearing on Monday, Maynard’s lawyer, Nigel Hughes, informed the court that he has already laid over submissions addressing the severity of the sentence. Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Dionne McCammon was given until Friday to respond. The Court of Appeal will hear arguments in the case on February 16, 2021. The presiding Judges are the Chancellor of the Judiciary Justice Yonette CummingsEdwards and Justices of Appeal Dawn Gregory and
related that an ambulance arrived on site but they were told little of what had transpired. A few staffers who were still present refused to divulge any information with regards to the fatal accident. Minister Hamilton has
since stated that labour officials will be dispatched to the location to launch an investigation. Activities at the worksite have since come to a halt. Guyana Shore Base Inc is a Guyanese company, focused
on supporting the offshore oil and gas industry in Guyana. In December, the Labour Minister had disclosed that some nine persons lost their lives as a result of workplace accidents within the course of five months. Seven of the deaths had occurred in the mining areas, while the remaining two happened on construction sites – one being at the Infectious Diseases Hospital at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown. Later, Hamilton also announced that his Ministry would be pursuing a legislative agenda that will continue the amending process of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. He had explained that the amendments will cater to a number of new changes in the country’s economy such as the emerging oil and gas sector.
PI into murder of Better Hope moneychanger, daughter continues tomorrow
Dead: Carlissa Matthews
Rishi Persaud. Media reports are that Maynard and the young woman shared a relationship that ended a few months before her demise. On December 31, 2013, Matthews was standing in front of a Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) outlet in the Stabroek area when Maynard approached and asked to speak with her. At the time, Matthews, who was in the company of relatives and friends, walked away and chatted with Maynard before he whipped out a gun and shot her to the head. The woman, who fell to the ground, was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where she died the next day. Maynard was arrested by Police while he was about to board a boat at the GuyanaSuriname “backtrack” crossing at Springlands, Corentyne, Berbice. Reports are that Maynard was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 14 years in prison for unlawfully killing a woman he had shared a relationship with.
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ollowing directives from the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Magistrate Alisha George presiding at the Sparendaam Magistrates’ Courts will on Wednesday proceed with the Preliminary Inquiry (PI) into the murder of Better Hope, East Coast Demerara money changer Aaron Latchman and his daughter Arianna Latchman. The PI had been stalled for several months after 25-year-old Mark Rufina, one of the five men charged with the killings, escaped from the Lusignan Prison between October 20 and October 21, 2020. The murder accused remains on the run. In light of the circumstances, Magistrate George instructed the Police prosecutor to seek legal advice on the way forward. The others charged with the murders are 37-year-old Paul Chan, called “Anthony”, a bus conductor of Dennis Street, Sophia, Greater Georgetown; 44-year-old Troy Abrams, called “Rasta Man”, a vendor of Middle Street, Agricola, East Bank Demerara (EBD); 37-yearold Lloyd Sadloo of Mocha Arcadia, EBD; and 41-yearold Sean Thomas, called
Dead: Aaron Latchman and his daughter Arianna
“Yankee”, an electrician of William Street, Kitty, Georgetown. It was reported that on the day of the murder, both Aaron and his 19-year-old daughter had just returned to their Lot 58 Robert Street, Better Hope, East Coast Demerara home when they were attacked by armed men. It is being alleged that the men in question had reportedly held the man and his daughter at gunpoint and took them into the upper flat of their home, where they demanded money. Upon receiving the bag that contained an undisclosed amount of cash, the men then shot the money changer and his daughter before escaping from the scene. Shortly after, the businessman and his daughter were rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital,
where they were both pronounced dead. Sometime later, a motor car that belonged to the dead businessman that was used by the bandits was found at Front Road, La Penitence, Georgetown. During a search of the vehicle, an illegal firearm and several rounds of ammunition were found. Two of the accused murderers – Abrams and Sadloo – were arrested and placed before the court before for varying offences ranging from robbery under arms to trafficking in narcotics. In fact, in 2016, Abrams was found guilty and sentenced to five years in prison for robbery under arms committed on moneychangers Rayburn Fraser and Osaffo Ward at America Street, Georgetown, on November 3, 2015.
