22-year-old Policeman remanded for murder of Quindon Bacchus; Two other Cops remanded on obstruction charges

All of the appearances were done virtually this morning. There was no explanation given for the virtual appearance, but additional security had been set up around the Magistrates' Court in preparation for the appearance of the men.

22-year-old Policeman remanded for murder of Quindon Bacchus; Two other Cops remanded on obstruction charges

22-year-old Police Lance Corporal, Kristoff Denobrega appeared before the Chief Magistrate virtually this morning and was charged with the murder of Golden Grove youth, 25-year-old Quindon Bacchus.

DeNobrega was not required to enter a plea to the indictable murder charge and was immediately remanded to jail.

During the appearance, it was explained to the Court that on the 10th of June at Haslington on the East Coast of Demerara, Quindon Bacchus was shot dead by Denobrega.

The Court was told that Denobrega opened fire on Bacchus, hitting him seven times to the body.

A post-mortem examination revealed that Bacchus received five of those shots to his back.

The Police had originally claimed that Bacchus had opened fire on the Police.

MURDERED: Quindon Bacchus

But in Court today, the Prosecutor in the matter said there was no evidence that Bacchus ever opened fire on the Police. The Prosecutor also said that based on ballistics tests, the gun that the Police claimed Bacchus used to open fire on them was not in any working condition.

The murder accused, Kristoff Denobrega was remanded to jail and the matter has been transferred to the Cove and John Magistrates’ Court where it will next be heard on the 19th of July.

Two other Policemen, Lance Corporal Thurston Simon and Sergeant Dameion McLennon were charged with attempting to obstruct the course of justice and conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline.

Lance Corporal Simon

In the case of Lance Corporal Simon, the Court was told that he attempted to pervert the course of justice by providing false statements about the shooting death of Bacchus.

The Court heard that Simon was part of the Police team in the Haslington community that was part of the undercover operation. The Prosecutor said he provided two inconsistent statements during the probe of the shooting death and those statements were meant to cover up the truth.

Simon’s Attorney, Everton Lammy told the Court that his client was threatened by senior ranks of the Special Branch Unit of the Force not to disclose certain information about the shooting death and he complied with the instructions.

The Prosecutor objected to bail and bail was refused.

Lance Corporal Simon was remanded to jail until the 12th of July for the continuation of the matter.

The other Policeman, Sergeant Dameion McLennon faced a charge of showcasing conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline. He has been accused of willfully providing false information to investigators.

The Court was told that McLennon was also part of the Police operation in the Haslington area that resulted in the shooting death of Quindon Bacchus.

The Police Prosecutor told the Court that while Sergeant McLennon provided a statement that he never fired his weapon, ballistics tests and spent shells recovered at the scene disputed his statements and pointed to his weapon being fired. The Prosecutor objected to bail and bail was refused. He has been remanded to jail until the 12th of July when his matter will be called again.

Police Sergeant Dameion McLennon

All of the appearances were done virtually this morning. There was no explanation given for the virtual appearance, but additional security had been set up around the Magistrates’ Court in preparation for the appearance of the men.

The June 10th shooting death of Quindon Bacchus led to street protests and calls for justice by his family, who said that based on the post-mortem examination, the death of their son was cold-blooded murder.

They continue their calls for justice and are hoping that justice will be served in the matter.

The charges were filed following the advice of the Director of Public Prosecutions. The DPP’s advice came one day after the investigation file on the shooting was forwarded to her by the Police Complaints Authority which overlooked the investigation of the case.

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