Death sentence for Caroni killers

Justice Prakash Moosai yesterday sentenced two Caroni men to death after a 12-member jury found them guilty of the 1997 murder of Chaguanas businessman Ramcoomar Ramoutar.

Anthony Amogan and Michael Ramdawar, both 33, of Frederick Settlement, Caroni, were jointly charged with the murder of Ramoutar at Carlsen Field, Chaguanas, on February 22, 1997. The men were sentenced to be hanged after the jury comprising of five women and seven men found them each guilty of murder. The jury which spent two months listening to evidence and three days of listening to the judge’s summation of the trial, took 90 minutes to deliberate the verdict. Justice Moosai asked the prisoners if there was anything they wished to say before he passed sentence. Amogan replied, “There is nothing I can say at this point in time to the sentence passed on me, but I will prove my innocence at a higher court.” Ramdawar made no response. Moosai then read the death sentence to each of the men separately. As he was led out of the courtroom, Amogan looked across to his family and told them not to worry about him.

Moosai commended the jury on their exemplar service for the two-month period they served. He then exempted them from jury service for a period of two years. Upon hearing the sentence, Ramoutar’s wife, Ann, cried and fell to the ground. She and her daughter, Roxanne, were comforted by other relatives present at the court. Outside of court, Ann cried  and held onto State attorney Cherron Raphael who prosecuted in the trial. The State presented evidence indicating that Amogan and Ramdawar went to the Ramoutar’s home at Edinburgh Village, Chaguanas, on February 22, 1997. After robbing Ramoutar and his family, they kidnapped Ramoutar and took him to Carlsen Field where they shot him in each knee. Post mortem reports showed that Ramoutar died as a result of blood loss from the gunshot wounds to his knees. Amogan was represented by attorney Selwyn Mohammed and Owen Hinds Jr, while Ramdawar was represented by attorney Om Lalla and Shastri Roberts.