The 66-year-old father of now dead wanted man Neil Bovell appeared at the Leonora Magistrate's Court yesterday on a rape charge and was remanded to police custody.
Cyril Bovell of 137 Stanleytown, West Bank Demerara was not required to plead to the indictable charge of rape and was remanded to police custody by Magistrate Fazil Azeez.
It is alleged that Cyril Bovell knowing that Neil Bovell had carnal knowledge of a woman in 2005, did on Wednesday, December 27, 2006 receive, relieve, comfort and assist the said Neil Bovell.
Stabroek News was informed that the elder Bovell was charged under sections 26 and 76 of the criminal law offences act. Section 26 deals with being an accessory to the crime (aiding and abetting).
Neil Bovell was shot dead by police at Stanleytown, West Bank Demerara on December 27, as he tried to escape from his father's house where he had apparently spent the holidays.
A police statement issued the same day said Neil Bovell was "fatally shot at his father's residence at Stanleytown, West Bank Demerara, during a police operation."
Residents and the police had frequently expressed concern that Bovell's relatives were providing him with shelter and supplies. Bovell, a former policeman, also knew the area well and had established several well-appointed camps in the backlands over the years.
Appearing for the elderly Bovell was attorney-at-law Glen Hanoman who told the court that the charge was nothing but a publicity stunt because Neil Bovell was an embarrassment to the police force. He said his client had been terrorized by Neil Bovell for "many, many years" and charged that even though complaints had been made to the Ministry of Home Affairs and the police at Leonora nothing had been done. He said his client had been responsible for sending Bovell to prison on more than one occasion and declared that it was ironic that his client who had suffered the most at Neil Bovell's hands was being charged with providing comfort and relief to him. He said measures taken by his client against Neil Bovell included erecting a barbed wire fence and buying two pit bulls to keep him out.
Further, he said that the police had found Neil Bovell in a yard four houses away but the man had committed suicide and was lying dead and the police "went and shot a dead man". He asked for bail saying also that his client was ill.
Police prosecutor Ramsahoye Rambajue opposed bail saying that the police were still conducting investigations into the matter.
After listening to the arguments the magistrate remanded Cyril Bovell to police custody and transferred the matter to the Wales Magistrate's Court for next Thursday.