Charges against two members of the Guyana Police Force, Cadet Officer Damien McLennon and Lance Corporal Thurston Simon, were dismissed on Monday after Senior Magistrate Fabayo Azore upheld no-case submissions at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
The ruling, delivered in Court No. 3, came after McLennon’s attorney, Bernard Da Silva, successfully argued that the prosecution had not established a prima facie case regarding the charge of attempting to obstruct the course of justice. As a result, the magistrate upheld the no-case submission, leading to the dismissal of the charge against McLennon.
A similar outcome was found for Lance Corporal Simon, represented by attorney Glenn Hanoman, with the court also agreeing to his no-case submission and dismissing the charges against him.
Both officers had been on cash bail while awaiting trial. The dismissals relate to a broader investigation into the fatal shooting of 23-year-old Quindon Bacchus, a father, on June 10, 2022. McLennon and Simon faced allegations of attempting to obstruct justice by providing false information to investigators looking into Bacchus’s death.
The charges were initiated following a recommendation from the Police Complaints Authority on July 3, 2022. The Director of Public Prosecutions subsequently advised that charges be filed against Simon, McLennon, and Police Lance Corporal Kristoff De Nobrega, who was charged with Bacchus’s murder.
Bacchus was shot by a police officer during an operation in Haslington, East Coast Demerara. Last month, Demerara High Court Judge Gino Persaud also upheld a no-case submission in favor of De Nobrega, ultimately ordering a not-guilty verdict due to insufficient evidence presented by the prosecution.
Reports indicate that police were conducting an operation based on intelligence received when they confronted Bacchus, who was allegedly armed and planning to sell a firearm to an undercover officer. During the encounter, Bacchus reportedly discharged a weapon at the officer, who then returned fire, resulting in Bacchus being struck.
A .380 pistol and shell casings were recovered at the scene. Bacchus was later pronounced dead at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation due to multiple gunshot wounds.
In a separate 2024 matter, Justice Nigel Niles ordered the state to pay GY$24 million in compensation to Bacchus’s mother for his unlawful killing, following the state’s acceptance of liability in a lawsuit filed by her.
The investigation into the broader circumstances surrounding Bacchus’s death continues as the legal proceedings conclude for the involved officers.
