After months of fighting efforts in local courts to block his extradition, United States (US) fugitive, Troy Anthony Thomas has finally been notified that he will be returned to the United States to face a charge of murder.
Principal Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus on Friday ordered Thomas be extradited when the case came up at the Providence Magistrate’s Court, East Bank Demerara.
Thomas of 32nd Street, South Ozone Park, Queens, New York was represented by Attorneys Nigel Hughes, Bernard Da Silva and Darren Wade.
The lawyers used Friday’s hearing to argue that Guyana was attempting to extradite the wrong person to the United States. They claimed that the defendant was not Troy Anthony Thomas as is being reported.
Rather, they claimed the man before the court was Marvin William.
The Magistrate in her ruling noted that the defendant signed police and court documents as Troy Thomas. In court he also answered to Troy Thomas, the Magistrate pointed out.
Additionally, U.S court documents which carry his date of birth match the same he gave in court.
The Magistrate squashed earlier arguments by the Lawyers that the Extradition Treaty between the United States and Guyana was not valid and in turn ordered that Thomas is returned to the United States.
She stated that Judge Kiyo Matsumoto in the United States District Court, Eastern District of New York had made this ruling in the case against Guyanese Marcus Bisram who has also been valiantly fighting off being extradited to face a murder charge in Guyana.
The United States had signed an Extradition Treaty with the United Kingdom on December 22, 1931, while Guyana was under the United Kingdom’s control and the Treaty remained in effect after Guyana obtained its independence from the United Kingdom.
It was noted too that the United States Executive Branch has unambiguously stated that it considers the Treaty to be in effect.
Notwithstanding the Magistrate’s Order, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan has the final say on when and how Thomas is to be extradited.
Police headquarters had reported that an intelligence-led operation which commenced on January 31, 2018, resulted in the arrest Thomas of who allegedly murdered Keith Frank on December 11, 2011.
Keith Frank, who had moved to Queens from Guyana at age 12, died shortly before his 21st birthday. The New York Police Department suspected that Thomas shot him once in the torso at around 4:45 a.m.
Thomas had fled the U.S. after an arrest warrant was issued for him.
