After four years on remand, former police constable Jemison Williams on Friday walked out of the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court a free man after a city magistrate found that there was not enough evidence tying him to the murder of Godfrey Scipio known as ‘Saga’, who was shot and robbed at a hotel.
However, his co-accused, former Police Corporal Derwin Eastman was committed to stand trial for the murder at the High Court before a judge and jury.
The ruling was made on Friday by Magistrate Fabayo Azore, who presided over the Preliminary Inquiry (PI) at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.
Williams was represented by attorneys Dexter Todd and Dexter Smartt while Eastman was represented by attorneys Nigel Hughes and Ronald Daniels. The two former cops were arrested after the alleged ‘triggerman’, Aubrey Bobb, was charged with the October 12, 2017 murder.
Bobb alleged that Eastman was the mastermind and had supplied him with the gun to carry out the hit. The police arrested Bobb one day after reviewing CCTV footage from the Kitty hotel, where 64-year-old Scipio was shot and robbed.
Bobb had previously served time for robbery.
Reports are that the Scipio was leaving the hotel in the company of a female friend, and was about to enter his car, which was parked in front of the building when he was accosted by a gunman.
The gunman, according to the police, discharged a round, hitting Scipio in the abdomen. He later relieved him of his jewellery before escaping on foot. Scipio was rushed to a private city hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The stolen jewellery was never recovered.
Bobb is currently awaiting trial at the High Court for the crime.
