Hotel owner in alleged murder plot moves to High Court for bail

Jul 03, 2019 Court Stories, Features / Columnists, News

Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan for a third time has refused bail for the owner of Rockies International Hotel on Light Street, Georgetown, and the alleged contracted hit man, in relation to their charge of conspiracy to commit murder.

Chatterpaul Singh

Mark Grimmond

Further remanded are businessman Mark Grimmond, 57, of 320 Grove Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara, and Chatterpaul Singh, 36, a miner, of 1 First Street, Cummingsburg, Georgetown.
The men are currently before Magistrate McLennan in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts. They were not required to plead to the indictable charge.
It is alleged that between April 1, 2018 and June 7, 2019, at Georgetown, the defendants conspired with each other, and persons unknown, to murder Dwayne Grant, a businessman from Lethem.
Attorney-at-law Bernard Da Silva, who is representing Grimmond, told the court that last Friday his client had to be rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) where he complained of feeling unwell.
According to the attorney, Grimmond was vomiting blood and he was rushed to GPHC at 02:00hrs on Friday. He was treated and released back into police custody later that very day. The attorney for Singh also tried to renew his application for bail to be granted to his client.
Police prosecutor Neville Jeffers indicated to the court that his file is almost completed. Statements into the matter were available; however, outstanding are the telephone recordings between the two defendants.
In his response to the renewal of the bail applications, the prosecutor maintained his previous grounds of objection. These were based on the seriousness of the offence and the strength of the evidence the police wish to present.
The prosecutor also noted that there is an application for bail pending at the High Court for Grimmond.
After listening to the defence counsel and prosecution, Chief Magistrate McLennan refused bail and adjourned the matter to July 9.
According to the facts of the charge, Grant received certain information that the men were plotting to kill him and he reported it to the police. The police ranks acting on the report went to a hotel where they made contact with the number two defendant, Singh.
Singh was arrested and at that point in time, he was reportedly found with a firearm. In a detailed conversation with the police, Singh reportedly admitted that he was contracted by Grimmond to kill Grant.
Grimmond was subsequently arrested and the allegation of conspiracy to commit murder was put to him. Telephone conversations between the two defendants were obtained by the police. Based on advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions, the charge was instituted.

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