Kurt ‘Banana’ Erskine was on Thursday found guilty of the 2015 fatal shooting of 48-year-old Ganesh Ramlall called ‘Boyo’, who was the owner of the Regent Multiplex Mall in Georgetown.
Erskine, formerly of Golden Grove, East Bank Demerara, was on trial before Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall at the Demerara High Court for the capital offence of murder.
Erskine had denied that on July 5, 2015, he murdered Ramlall during a robbery.
The jury, after deliberating for over two hours, found Erskine not guilty of murder and guilty of manslaughter.
The judge ordered that a probation report is prepared for Erskine and deferred sentencing to March 28, 2022.
The State is represented by attorneys-at-law Konyo Sandiford and Narissa Leander who are special prosecutors in this matter. Erskine was represented by attorney-at-law Lyndon Amsterdam.
His co-accused Fazeel Bacchus and Lennox ‘Soldier Man’ Roberts have both pleaded to manslaughter for the crime.
On February 28, Bacchus was sentenced to six and a half years by Justice Morris-Ramlall. He was released from prison the next day on time served.
Bacchus was a state witness in the trial against Erskine.
Meanwhile, Roberts is expected to be sentenced on March 17.
According to reports, at about 00:10 hrs on July 5, 2015, the businessman had just returned home and was about to use the outside bathroom when he was confronted by four men.
He was shot several times about his body by the armed men, who took away his licensed firearm, jewellery and a wallet and then escaped.
Ramlall was later pronounced dead at the West Demerara Regional Hospital.
On July 14, 2015, Bacchus, was arrested by police and admitted that he was the getaway driver.
