A father, his son and nephew were on Wednesday set free on an attempted murder incitement by a Berbice jury.
The three, Rajnarine Ishree 48; his son Kumar, 21; and nephew Sandeep Toolsie, 19; all of Bush Lot, West Coast Berbice, were accused of attempting to murder Henry Garret, 28, of Number 23 Village, Berbice.
The prosecution’s case, which was presented by Sate Prosecutor Mandel Moore, stated that on March 12, 2016, Garret was at a wedding house at Bush Lot and left to check on his bicycle
and as he was heading back to the celebrations, the three men approached him and asked, “What a 23 man ah do ah Bush Lot.”
The men were accused of ambushing Garret and beating him with paling staves until he fell unconscious.
During the trial, Prosecutor Moore called six witnesses, including two Police Officers. One of the witnesses, Garret’s cousin Mukesh, told the court that he was at the wedding house and he noticed persons running towards the door. He said he too ran outside and saw his cousin lying on the dam.
He told the court that he picked Garret up in an unconscious state and took him to the Fort Wellington Hospital.
Meanwhile, Garret in his evidence, said he was beaten by the Ishrees’ and Toolsie. He said when he regained consciousness, he was in the Fort Wellington Hospital.
The three men maintained throughout the trial that they were not the ones who injured Garret but rather it was other persons at the scene of the incident.
Attorney Tagenarine Ramroop representing the Ishrees’ argued that the music had stopped and as a result, persons began fighting. He said those fighting were not
invited to the wedding and were put out of the celebrations.
Toolsie was represented by Attorney Arudranuth Gossai.
Garret had said that he was friends with the bridegroom’s father. He said he was not invited but it is customary for persons in nearby communities to turn up at wedding houses without being issued with an invitation.
Meanwhile, after considering all of the evidence, the jury found the accused not guilty on a wounding with intent indictment. They also found the men not guilty on the attempted murder indictment.
