'Spy Chief could face attempted murder, firearm charges' - Legal sources

(Kaieteur News) – Senior Superintendent Prem Narine could face criminal charges, including attempted murder and discharging a loaded firearm, following the October 12 Barr Street Kitty shooting incident involving Leader of the Opposition Azruddin Mohamed and his staff, according to legal sources.

Regarding the shooting, if it was not justified, discharging a loaded firearm with intent under Section 55(a) is a felony carrying life imprisonment. This covers anyone who ‘unlawfully and maliciously’ discharges, or attempts to discharge, ‘at any person any kind of loaded firearm’. He must intend ‘to maim, disfigure, disable, or cause any grievous bodily harm’. This is the most fitting charge if he fired at the occupants of the car. The rounds fired ‘over the car’ at Sandy Babb are harder to fit, because the section requires firing at a person. An attempt to murder under Section 104(g) is also a felony carrying life imprisonment, ‘whether any bodily injury is effected or not’. The conduct is the same as under Section 55, but he must have intended to kill, which legal sources note would be hard to prove. Common assault under Section 43 carries one year and would cover his aiming at the car as it approached, working only if the occupants saw it and expected immediate violence. Damage to the car under Section 161 applies where damage exceeds $75, with a maximum of five years because the incident was at night, which the Act defines as 8 p.m. to 5:45 a.m., though the difficulty is that nothing records the car being examined for bullet strikes. Additional examination under the Firearms Act or the Summary Jurisdiction (Offences) Act requires checking for offences of discharging a firearm in or near a public way, while noting his possession of his service weapon is lawful in itself.

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Concerning the statements, if they were knowingly false, an attempt to obstruct the course of justice under Section 331 carries one year and covers anyone who willfully attempts ‘to obstruct, prevent, pervert, or defeat the course of justice’. It would apply to a knowingly false statement to the police, for example that the car was ‘at all times within the view of the men’ when it was found locked on Alexander Street. Conspiracy to obstruct the course of justice under Section 330 carries two years and would apply if he and George and Anys agreed their accounts, with shared phrases such as ‘bracing a post’ and the same formula for recognising each occupant serving as evidence. Conspiracy to prosecute a person known to be innocent under Section 329 is a felony carrying up to life, though the bar is high because it requires proof that they knew the person was innocent. Perjury under Sections 325 through 326 applies once he gives evidence on oath, with Section 327 mattering most where he makes contradictory statements of material fact on oath in any judicial proceedings, meaning the prosecution need not prove which one is false and he faces two years if either statement was made ‘with intent to deceive’ as he testifies both in the extradition committal and at the firearm trial. Misconduct in public office remains a common-law misdemeanour punishable under Section 21.