Minibus conductor found guilty of stabbing fruit vendor to death

Timothy McKenzie, a 25-year-old minibus conductor, was on Tuesday found guilty of the 2018 fatal stabbing of fruit vendor Richard Noel.

Mckenzie of Public Road, Kitty was on trial before Justice Sandil Kissoon and a 12-member jury at the Georgetown High Court for the capital offence of murder.

He had pleaded not guilty to murdering Noel on June 4, 2018, at Stabroek Market, Georgetown.

The jury, after deliberating for over two hours on Tuesday, found McKenzie not guilty of the offence of murder but guilty of the lesser offence of manslaughter.

He was represented by attorneys-at-law Edrianna Stephen and Ronald Daniels while the State was represented by prosecutor Muntaz Ali.

Attorney Daniles requested for a probation report to be done on his client; Justice Kissoon accepted the application and deferred sentencing to November 3.

According to reports, both parties were known to each other. On the day in question, Noel was in the vicinity of the Stabroek Market, where he plied his trade when he and McKenzie had a misunderstanding.

McKenzie allegedly armed himself with a knife and stabbed Noel in the left side of his chest.

Noel collapsed and was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital in an unconscious state where he later succumbed to his injuries.