One to hang for 'Joe Hook' murder - mastermind jailed, 11 freed
by George Barclay
ONE of the 15 accused in the historic Joe Hook, Mahaica Creek, murder case was last night sentenced to death. Eleven, including the lone woman, were freed but the mixed jury found the three others, including the mastermind, guilty of manslaughter. In the trial at the Demerara Assizes, Latchman Ramesh, called Rohan, 25, was found guilty of murder and was sentenced to death. He took the sentence calmly, as the crowded court room stood to hear Justice Winston Moore pronounce the death sentence. Mastermind Ramesh, called Edwin, 47, was found guilty of manslaughter and jailed for 20 years. In imposing sentence, Justice Moore found that Edwin was the mastermind who spurred the others into the crime and was able to pull himself out of trouble. Also found guilty of manslaughter were Gildharie Tulram, called Rakesh and Balram Ramkarran called Sham. Justice Moore said he would order a probation report for them before imposing sentence, since he believed they were spurred into committing the crime and would be entitled to a lighter sentence. They were remanded to prison and would be brought back to court on May 3 for sentence. The case for the Prosecution, presented by a team led by State Counsel Roxanne George, was that the group, believing Nankumar Sukhoo, also known as `Boyso', 41, was a Police informer, torched his house and killed him when he emerged from the burning building at Joe Hook, Mahaica Creek, East Coast Demerara, on October 11, 1993. The killing followed Police raids and destruction of marijuana (ganja) farms in Mahaica earlier that month. The 14 men and the woman indicted before the judge and jury made history in the criminal jurisdiction of this country because it was the first time so many people were tried on a single indictment for the capital offence. In the specially constructed dock were Gildharie Tulram (Rakesh), 22, Ramesh (Edwin) 47, Sookraj Ramgobin (Sonna) 18, Latchman Ramesh (Rohan) 25, Nandram Ramesh (Pajoi) 18, Mohanlall Doodnauth (Rajesh) 19, Chaitram Doodnauth (Maholie) 21, Balram Ramkarran (Sham) 26, Gangaram Achaibar (Boyo) 17, Pooramal Bissessar (Lil Ramo) 19, Roopnarine (Fry Fish or Whistler) 18, Ramdas Sanka (Big Ramo) 24, Deodat Doodnauth (Ganesh) 20, Danesh Doodnauth (Chubby) 17 and Dharandai Doodnauth (Baba). Before imposing the 20-year-sentence on Edwin, the judge told him to consider himself very lucky and added, "I have no doubt in my mind you were the cause of what happened and you being the older and more clever you took yourself out. "My sentence is going to reflect my view." The jury's verdict came after more than three hours deliberation. The judge took two days to sum up the evidence. During Police investigations, five of the suspects in custody gave confession statements (which they later denied) which formed the basis for the charges. There were three eyewitnesses who said Rohan shot Boyso to death after his house was set afire. However, Edwin testified from the dock that he shot Boyso, claiming he did so in defence of his life after Boyso, who was chasing him with a pointed garden fork, was getting dangerously close to him. During his summing up yesterday morning, Justice Moore directed the jury to discard the evidence of Prosecution eyewitness Satesh. The judge said he was so directing because Satesh, who told the jury he had seen Rohan shoot his uncle, admitted under cross-examination that in his earlier testimony before the magistrate at the Preliminary Inquiry, he did say he did not know who did the shooting. The judge noted that when asked for an explanation for his two different versions, the witness had said, "I have none." Highlight of the judge's eight-hour summing up was the acting in concert concept. He told the jurors that although the 15 accused were on the scene that day and had been charged jointly with the crime, on the grounds that they were acting in concert, the mere presence of an accused did not mean that he participated in the commission of the crime. The jury would have to find that they were there as participators with a common plan to kill Boyso and burn down his house, the judge said. Six lawyers, including Mr. Peter Britton, S.C. and Mr. Jaynarayan Singh, represented the accused while the line-up for the Prosecution included Miss Jo-Ann Barlow. The defence lawyers had urged the jury to return a verdict of not guilty on the grounds that because of the discrepancies and conflicts in the Prosecution's case, no other verdict was possible. But leading Prosecuting counsel George asked the jury to find that "the accused had come out that day like an army with the intention to kill." "Those who did not have guns, were armed with cutlasses and sticks," the Prosecutor said in her final address to the jury of eight men and four women. The Prosecution claimed the group set out after Boyso because it was his report to the Police that led to the destruction of marijuana farms in the Mahaica Creek on October 9, 1993. Sixteen witnesses testified for the Prosecution and three for the defence.
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