Freed murder accused back in custody

- File photo

DAYS after a 39-year-old murder accused from Bank Village in Carapichaima was freed by a master in the High Court owing to delays in prosecuting his case, he was rearrested and is expected to appear in court charged with the same offences.

Anil “Budett” Roopnarine, 39, of Bank Village in the Freeport district, is expected to face a master in the Port of Spain High Court on July 22.

Only on July 16, when the case was called before a master in the High Court, he was freed as prosecutors had not yet filed an indictment or disclosed evidence against Roopnarine.

The court cited failures to comply with deadlines set by the court.

The accused labourer was charged with the murder of Joshua “Starboi Joshie” Mooniram, 20, the attempted murder of another man, possession of a gun and ammunition, and possession of the gun and ammunition with intent to endanger lives.

The charges stemmed from a shooting on October 13, 2023, when Mooniram was at the home of a friend in Freeport.

After he was freed, the police rearrested him on the same charges.

PC Lall of the Homicide Bureau of Investigations, Region Three, laid the charges.

The police contend that Mooniram and others were accosted by five masked men, one with a gun and the others with cutlasses.

Mooniram and his friend were shot. Mooniram died while the friend survived.

The two victims were taken to the hospital, where Mooniram died.

The accused first faced a Couva magistrate on October 23, 2023.

With the proclamation of the Administration of Justice (Indictable Proceedings) Act, 2011 (AJIPAA) on December 12, 2023, the case was transferred from the Magistrates’ Court to the High Court before a master.

Under this new system, all indictable cases are now heard directly in the High Court by Masters.

This means preliminary inquiries, which were previously held in the Magistrates’ Court, have been eliminated, helping to reduce the backlog of cases in the lower courts.