The two policemen, charged with the murder of University of Guyana student Yohance Douglas last year, are to stand trial in the High Court.
Acting Chief Magistrate Juliet Holder-Allen yesterday committed Gerald Alonzo and Mahendra Baijnauth to stand trial at the next criminal assizes starting April 6.
Holder-Allen said the state had established a prima facie case of murder against both accused. In response, the accused told the magistrate that they were innocent and were reserving their defence for the High Court trial. Douglas' killing triggered protests by university students and civic groups last year.
Prior to the decision, Senior Counsel Bernard De Santos gave a statement in defence of his client, Mahendra Baijnauth, while defence counsel Compton Richardson, who represents Gerald Alonzo, continued his submission from two weeks ago.
Concluding, State Prosecutor Jo-Ann Barlow presented her report. On January 27 she had closed her case after a number of witnesses had been called.
Gerald Alonzo
The inquiry began after Douglas was shot dead on Sheriff Street on March 1, 2003. Alonzo and Baijnauth were members of a police patrol that opened fire on the car. Both have been accused of unlawfully killing Douglas while Baijnauth, who was in charge of the police party, is also charged with the attempted murder of another occupant of the vehicle.
Douglas was travelling with three other men when the two accused are said to have opened fire on the vehicle. Ronson Gray who was driving at the time was wounded in the shooting. He, along with the two other members Quacy Heywood and O'Neil King, testified at the inquiry. Members of the police force including Constable Kevin Murray and Wendell Thomas, who was a member of the patrol, also gave evidence.