More than two years after a City Constabulary Lance Corporal was charged for fatally shooting a mentally ill prisoner, he was this afternoon committed to stand trial in the High Court.
Fifty-two-year-old Gregory Bascom of Lot 340 West Ruimveldt, Housing Scheme, Georgetown, was not required to the plead to the indictable charge which alleged that on January 14, 2018, at Regent Road Bourda, Georgetown, he unlawfully killed Marlon Fredericks.
This afternoon, when the matter was called, Senior Magistrate Leron Daly ruled that having considered the prosecution’s evidence, the court is of the opinion that a sufficient case had been made out against Bascom.
Hence, he was committed to stand trial at the next practicable sitting of the Demerara Assizes.
According to information, Marlon Fredericks, 34, who was unarmed, was shot by Bascom on January 14, 2018, as he escaped from detention at the Bourda Market Outpost.
Fredericks, who was described as mentally ill, was shot in his mother’s presence, as he ran out of the Outpost, where he was being detained on allegations of simple larceny and assaulting a peace officer.
It was reported that Fredericks had forced his way out of the lockup when the ranks opened a door to allow another prisoner to use the toilet.
Bascom tried to restrain Fredericks, but he allegedly wrestled free from him and others. Bascom then shot Fredericks in his lower back with a service pistol.
A post mortem confirmed that Fredericks was shot in the back. It also revealed that the bullet pierced the lungs and exited the left side of the victim’s neck.
Bascom, who has been interdicted from the City Constabulary, remains out on bail citing the hearing and determination of the trial.
