Poultry vendor remanded to prison for chopping bandit to death

Seeindra Marimutoo, a 43-year-old poultry vendor of Portuguese Quarters, Corentyne, Region Six (East Berbice- Corentyne) was Monday remanded to prison after he was charged with the murder of 18-year-old Parmand Pertab.

Pertab was involved in a robbery attempt at the Port Mourant market recently.

Marimutoo made his appearance at the Whim Magistrate’s Court before Magistrate Tuanna Hardy.

The fatal incident occurred on October 26 at the Port Mourant market.

Attorney-at-law Latchmie Rahamat, representing Marimutoo, said there are plans to petition the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to review the charge.

Rahamat cited Guyana’s constitutional protections, arguing that self-defense, including using necessary force to protect property, can serve as a full legal defense in such cases.

The defense highlighted the role of key witnesses who reportedly saw the confrontation, suggesting that law enforcement had not adequately documented their statements.

Given the pending post-mortem results and complexities raised by the defense, Marimutoo was ordered to remain in custody. His next court date is scheduled for November 29, 2024.

The robbery took place at approximately 09:15 hrs on October 26 where a quantity of gold and silver jewelry were stolen. Pertab was armed with a cutlass while the second suspect was armed with a handgun.

The businessman opened his jewelry shop at around 07:30 hrs and began attending to customers.

At about 09:15 hrs, Pertab approached, wielding a cutlass, and began striking the businessman’s assistant, injuring him.

Meanwhile, the second suspect, armed with a handgun, instructed the businessman and his assistant to lie on the ground. They complied, and the robbers began filling a blue string bag with jewelry before fleeing on foot.

The businessman raised an alarm, attracting market patrons who tried to stop the robbers. In response, the armed suspect fired three shots, injuring a bystander in his right leg and left thigh.

Pertab, still carrying the cutlass and the blue bag with the stolen jewelry, was confronted by several persons at the market, including Marimutoo.

They managed to disarm him, retrieve the stolen jewelry, and hand it over to the Police. All stolen items were recovered and accounted for, Police said.

During the confrontation, Pertab sustained multiple injuries and collapsed.

Both the injured bystander and Pertab were taken to Port Mourant Public Hospital. Pertab later succumbed to his injuries during treatment while the injured bystander, Mark Lovell, was treated and later discharged himself.

A post-mortem conducted on Pertab revealed that he died from multiple incise wounds compounded by shock and hemorrhage.