By Leroy Smith
Police Corporal Jermaine Laundry, who is attached to the Major Crimes Unit of the Guyana Police Force, was today recalled to the stand to clarify some key points from his last testimony at the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the alleged assassination plot against President David Granger.
Among the points the Commission wanted clarified was why Laundry, who has more than 15 years of service in the Force, failed to inform the Commission that he had taken a statement from a woman just two days before taking the stand.
He was asked if he considered the woman’s statement to be important and he responded in the affirmative. After being asked why he did not mention it to the Commission during his last appearance, Detective Corporal Laundry paused for some twenty seconds then told the Commission he did not remember to mention it.
That statement in question was the one which discredited the story of Andriff Gillard, the man who was allegedly offered money to assassinate the President. Corporal Laundry went on to state that he was unaware that the Police was required to hand over all documents pertaining to the assassination plot to the Commission of Inquiry.
When asked by James Bond, the lawyer who is representing the Commission, if he can recall who the persons he took statements from are, Laundry told the lawyer he cannot recall who the persons were nor how many persons he took statements from in relation to the alleged assassination plot.
It was then pointed out to him that all of the statements he took in relation to the matter where statements which discredited the story of Gillard. The Policeman was asked if he found it to be a strange occurrence that he was being asked to record all the statements which discredited the story of Gillard, Detective Jermaine Laundry replied in the negative. Laundry said that he also never asked his superiors why he was being asked to take all the statements which discredits Gillard’s story.
It was also at the Commission of Inquiry today that the experienced detective was asked about the line of questioning he put to the woman, who provided the statement on July 19, 2017.
According to him, he did not ask many questions as the woman was the one relating her story and he recorded what she was saying. In giving an account of what Gillard reportedly told her about the plot, the woman failed to mention the date and time of the conversation.
When the Commission asked Laundry if he did not find that to be strange, he said no. He confirmed that there are questions which ought to be asked by detectives when taking statements and those questions being asked as well as the responses which are given to them should be recorded. But he did none of the above while interviewing the woman and said it should not be considered strange that he did not do that.
