A shop owner, whom the court heard dealt several chops to a would-be robber shortly after he refused to credit alcohol to the now dead man, was today charged with murder.
Forty-six-year-old Troy Wharton of 198 Wisroc Housing Scheme, Wismar, Linden, appeared before Acting Chief Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
It is alleged that on May 31, 2019 at Kurubarang Landing, Potaro River, Essequibo, he murdered Mark Jacobus.
He was not required to plead to the indictable charge after it was read to him.
The man’s lawyer Trenton Lake told the court that he was surprised that his client was charged with murder and not manslaughter. He added that on the day in question, his client was provoked by the now deceased who attempted to rob his shop.
Facts presented by Police Prosecutor Shellon Daniels stated that on May 31, 2019, the victim was consuming alcohol at Wharton’s shop when he requested to credit alcohol and the defendant refused.
She added that Jacobus allegedly armed himself with a gun and tried to rob the shop. In response, Wharton armed himself with a cutlass and inflicted the injuries on Jacobus.
The matter was then reported, an investigation was carried out, and Wharton was charged with murder.
Wharton was remanded to prison until June 14 when he will appear in the Bartica Magistrate’s Court.
