‘Spleen’ freed of murder charge; co-accused ‘Smokey’ to lead defence

After being behind bars for five years on a charge of murder, 29-year-old Howard Rambarose, known as ‘Spleen’ was freed by the High Court on Friday after Justice Sandil Kissoon upheld a no-case submission made by his attorney, George Thomas.

Rambarose, a gold miner, formerly of Meadow Bank, East Bank Demerara, was on trial with his co-accused Jermaine Jefford, known as ‘Smokey’ for the August 1, 2016, murder of Orin David called ‘Malik’, which occurred in Laing Avenue, Georgetown.

Jefford was represented by Stanley Moore, SC, who also made a no-case submission, but the judge did not rule in his favour.

On Thursday, when State Prosecutor, Lisa Cave closed her case, the attorneys submitted that the defence has no case to answer since the prosecution failed to lead key evidence.

Justice Kissoon, on Friday, upheld the no-case submission in favour of Rambarose and directed the jury to return a formal verdict of not guilty. However, the judge overruled the submission in favour of Jefford and called on him to lead his defence.

According to reports, 33-year-old David, a former murder accused, was confronted by a man, over money, after which an argument ensued. The man reportedly left the scene of the incident, but subsequently returned with others, armed with firearms.

They confronted David after which they shot him twice – once to his leg and another to his chest. The men fled the scene in a grey motorcar, while David was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.