Murder case against Baracara man thrown out in New Amsterdam court

The murder charge brought against 64-year-old Timothy Charles,
also known as Leon De Young and Howard De Jonge, a logger of the riverine Community of Baracara was on Thursday discharged the New Amsterdam Magistrate’s Court.

Charles had been accused of the 2013 murder of businessman Titus Sutton at Baracara. Sutton, 53, of Melanie Damishana, East Coast Demerara, was fatally shot in the chest on November 8 of that year.

His business partner, 34-year-old Sherwin McAlmont, was also wounded during the incident when he was shot in the thigh. Reports at the time indicated that Sutton and the accused had been involved in an argument before the shooting.

Charles was arrested in April 2024 and later faced an additional charge of possession of ammunition. That charge, however, was dismissed several months ago due to insufficient evidence.

On Thursday, the murder matter also collapsed after defence attorneys Charlyn Artiga, Tiffany Parris, and Akim Lampkin argued that there was no weapon presented, no witnesses to tie their client to the crime, and no substantive evidence arising from his arrest.

In her ruling, Magistrate Mathias found that the prosecution had not made out a case, and Charles was discharged.