Cops remanded to prison for murder of unarmed man

Two severing members of the Guyana Police Force were on Friday remanded to prison for the murder of 39-year-old Cecil Sampat – an unarmed man who was shot four times in July.

Corporal Godwin Thomas and Constable Troy Munroe appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan and were not required to plea to the charge which alleged that on August 6, they murdered Sampat of Festival City, South Ruimveldt, Georgetown.

They were represented by Attorney Patrice Henry and were remanded to prison until August 21, 2020.

According to reports, Sampat was club hopping with a coworker, 27-year-old Winston Fraser who is now paralyzed along with Joshua Letlow and Seon Greenidge on July 25 when Police opened fire on them.

The four friends were in motorcar PYY 4432 which Police mistook for a car used in a recent robbery at Eccles, East Bank Demerara.

But according to a Police report, the ranks had dispersed a crowded bar at Agricola, during which there was a fight between two men and one of the men was armed with a handgun. The armed man subsequently entered PYY 4432 and as such the ranks began trailing the car.

However, the police vehicle had some mechanical issues and the ranks contacted other patrols in the city and notified them of the situation.

Sampat and his friends were intercepted on Durban Street when police began shooting at them. No weapons were recovered from the friends or from the car.

On August 6, Sampat died while receiving treatment at the Georgetown Public Hospital.