Three of the suspects arriving in Georgetown after they were apprehended
The five men who allegedly murdered 12 persons in the Bartica Massacre three years ago were ordered to stand trial before a judge and jury. Mark Williams, also known as Royden Williams; Celbert “Chi Chi” Reece; Dennis “Anaconda” Williams; Michael “Capone” Caesar; and Roger “Goat Man” Simon were remanded to prison pending a date in the High Court for the commencement of the trial.
This was disclosed by Magistrate Fazil Azeez after the conclusion of the preliminary inquiry (PI) which lasted approximately 10 months, with 37 witnesses testifying, including civilians, relatives of the deceased, forensic experts, and police ranks.
The conviction to stand trial in the high court was possible since adequate evidence was provided to the lower court during the PI. The PI was conducted in Court Three of the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.
Immediately after the ruling, Magistrate Azeez gave the men opportunity to speak. Celbert Reece indicated that he wanted to give sworn evidence, while Simon maintained his innocence and related that he would reserve his witnesses for the High Court trial. The others remained silent.
In his sworn evidence, which lasted for a few hours, Reece gave an account of his involvement in the Bartica Massacre, as the other accused were seated in the prisoners’ dock. Reece revealed information that implicated the others as being equally involved in the killing of the twelve persons. His submission of evidence will continue on April 6.
The five suspects are accused of killing Irving Ferreira, Edwin Gilkes, Dexter Adrian, Lance Corporal Zaheer Zakir, Constable Shane Fredericks, Constable Ron Osborne, Deonarine Singh, Ronald Gomes, Ashraf Khan, Abdool Yasin, Errol and Baldeo Singh on February 17, 2008.
On that date, Bartica was attacked by a heavily-armed gang, leaving twelve people dead, including three policemen. The gunmen terrorised the town while the Bartica Police Station was over run by the gunmen during the rampage. Several business places were also robbed during the hour-long mayhem. The attack is believed to have been linked to the Lusignan Massacre, which occurred three weeks earlier and resulted in the deaths of eleven persons.
