Men accused of execution of taxi driver at Eccles walk free

Two men who had spent the last year on remand for murder walked out of the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court as free men Friday after Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus upheld a no-case submission presented to the court.

Rodrick Thomas, 29, of William Street, Kitty and Devon Allen 32, of Middle Road, La Penitence were on remand for the murder of 38-year-old taxi driver Kelvin Walters who was executed January 22, 2019, at Eccles Public Road, East Bank Demerara.

At the end of the Preliminary Inquiry, attorney-at-law Latchmie Rahamat made a no-case submission on the ground that there has been no evidence against her client.

The Magistrate upheld the no-case submission and discharged the capital offence of murder against them.

The prosecution had contended that Thomas and Allen were injured during the commission of the crime and that Allen was the number one suspect.

The men were arrested at the Woodlands Hospital where they sought treatment following the crime.

Walters was a taxi driver attached to the Indian Chief Taxi Service; he resided at Queenstown, Georgetown and Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara.

Police said that Walters was proceeding south on the McDoom Public Road, East Bank Demerara in the vicinity of Two Brothers Gas station at around 19:30hrs with his wife and 5-year-old daughter in the car when motorcycle CJ 2686 pulled up alongside them and two men ordered Walters to pull over.

After Walters refused, one of the men pulled out a handgun and shot him in his left side jaw. He was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where was pronounced dead on arrival.

Walters managed to injure one of the suspects by crashing his car into the motorbike.