Eugene Thorne, a driver employed by Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed, was rearrested yesterday shortly after he left the courtroom where the firearm and ammunition case against him, Mohamed and Mario Mohamed had been adjourned to November 27.
Police took Thorne into custody after the hearing at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court. The reason for his rearrest and whether he would face additional charges were unclear. However, it is understood that he was arrested over the downloading of the CCTV camera footage from the October 12th incident outside of the home of Special Branch Head Prem Narine.
At the start of yesterday’s hearing, attorney Siand Dhurjon told Magistrate Faith McGusty that members of Azruddin Mohamed’s family had been denied entry to the courtroom. He asked that they be allowed to observe the public proceedings. Magistrate McGusty granted the request and the relatives were admitted.
The prosecutor said further advice had been obtained from the Director of Public Prosecutions and asked for a short adjournment to act on that advice and disclose additional material to the defence.
Dhurjon questioned what material remained outstanding. Magistrate McGusty said the court had yet to be told what it was and that the prosecution would disclose it at the next hearing for the defence to review.
On October 16, the three men pleaded not guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition and attempting to pervert the course of justice. Magistrate McGusty granted each man $250,000 bail on each count, for a total of $750,000 per person. Their bail conditions included restrictions on approaching the Kitty home of Narine, outside which the October 12 shooting occurred.
At the October hearing, Mohamed’s lawyer disputed the police account of the firearm’s recovery, saying an initial search of the vehicle at the scene had turned up nothing. Mohamed later released surveillance footage which he said supported his claim that Narine fired at him. The government defended Narine’s actions, saying he was responding to gunfire.
Mohamed was subsequently charged in a separate cybercrime case over the alleged unauthorised disclosure of police surveillance footage relating to the October 12 shooting Narine’s Kitty home. Police Constable Ryan Greene was also charged in connection with the disclosure. Mohamed was remanded on October 30, and his mother, Bonita Mohamed, applied to the High Court for his release on bail. Justice Priscilla Chandra-Hanif is scheduled to rule on that application on November 13.
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