As the High Court trial into the 2016 murder of Mario Pozzer, a Brazilian gold miner commenced on Monday, several witnesses are expected to take the stand to offer evidence into the matter in which Roberto Miggins and Quasi Benjamin are the accused.
Miggins, called “Hot Skull”, and Benjamin, also called “Rambo”, pleaded not guilty to the charge which stated that between October 12 and October 13, 2016, they murdered Pozzer, also called “Gaucho”, in the course of, or furtherance of a robbery.
Respectively, Attorneys Adrian Thompson and Ashley Henry in association with Nigel Hughes are representing the accused persons in the matter while the State’s case is led by Prosecutor Sarah Martin in association with Teriq Mohammed and Tuanna Hardy.
Testifying at Monday’s court hearing was Gavin Campbell, a former employee of the now dead man, who recalled that on October 12, 2016 around 12:00h, they had washed down production and taken a break for lunch.
Campbell told court that he was the General Manager at the time and further recalled his co-workers being paid individually, and after some time his boss left the mining location, with gold in his possession, on an All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV), to travel to Port Kaituma, Region One (Barima-Waini).
According to Campbell, the now dead man did not return the following day, which prompted him to make several phone calls to enquire of his whereabouts.
Upon receiving a subsequent call, Campbell, without hesitation, left the mining camp with other workers and headed in the direction Pozzer took.
The court was told that while walking, Campbell and his co-workers discovered the now dead man lying face down with a wound to his head, alongside his body was the ATV, but the bag of gold was missing.
Campbell disclosed that the Police were contacted and the man’s body was later removed; a few days after, Campbell was taken to identify the body for a post-mortem to be conducted.
Under cross-examination by Benjamin’s Attorney (Nigel Hughes), the witness admitted that he was aware that Pozzer carried a shotgun in his possession for protection, but further denied knowledge of observing the deceased with same on the day in question, since he (Pozzer) would normally hide it.
When asked how he knew the weapon was hidden, Campbell responded that a search conducted at the mining camp by Police ranks unearthed the weapon as he was present.
Meanwhile, Edwin Ali – another former employee – in his testimony, recalled being in the company of Campbell when the body of their employer was discovered lying on the road. Ali stated that the body bore a wound to the head, further stating that he was present when the post-mortem examination was conducted.
The trial continues.
