A couple from Chaguanas has been freed of six criminal charges related to an alleged attack on an oyster vendor from Felicity.
Master Magaret Sookraj-Goswami discharged Roger Arjoon and Chelsea Winters on Tuesday after she presided over their sufficiency hearing.
During the hearing, the couple’s lawyer Bhimal Maharajh took issue with a series of witness statements filed by investigators in the case.
Maharajh pointed out that statements were not prepared in accordance with the provisions of the Administration of Justice (Indictable Proceedings) Act (AJIPA) in terms of certification.
He also pointed out that the notes taken by police officers, while the couple was interviewed after being arrested, were not authenticated by a Justice of the Peace as required.
Master Sookraj-Goswami agreed and struck the statements from evidence.
She then discharged the couple as the remaining evidence was insufficient to sustain the charges.
The couple was accused of attacking the vendor on February 6, last year.
The vendor claimed he was ambushed by the couple, who he knew from fishing at the mouth of the Felicity River, after he had finished speaking with a prospective customer outside his home.
He claimed that the couple attempted to force him into their station wagon and he resisted.
He claimed that Winters hit him on his head with a metal bar but he still managed to break free and run away.
He claimed that Arjoon fired a shot in his direction when he was running towards his house but they left after he went inside and locked the doors.
The couple was arrested weeks later and charged after they were allegedly identified by the man during a verification exercise.
They were charged with shooting with intent, possession of a firearm and ammunition, possession of a firearm and ammunition to endanger life, and malicious wounding.
They both denied any knowledge of the alleged attack when they were interrogated by investigators.
