Blaring sirens, a heavy army and police presence as well as that of two FBI officials heralded the arrival of three army officers and three civilians at the Port of Spain Magistrates' Court yesterday charged with the murder of Trinidad-born American Army veteran Balram "Balo" Maharaj.
By Hayden MillsMoments before the arrival of the six accused men around 10.30 a.m., Commissioner of Police Trevor Paul was escorted across St Vincent Street from Police Headquarters by Court and Process head Supt Wayne Gilbert. Paul continued walking past the court while Gilbert made his way to the Court to coordinate the smooth processing of the men.
As the six men were taken from the security truck one distraught family member, who was later in court for the proceedings, shouted "Leon! Leon , what is that one!"
She was referring to Sgt Leon Nurse of the Teteron Barracks in Chaguaramas, one of the three soldiers charged.
When he was taken back into the security van to be remanded he did not stop smiling.
The men appeared before Senior Magistrate Lianne Lee Kim at the Fourth B Court.
The soldiers were Nurse, of Comprehensive Road, Seventh Avenue, Malick, Barataria; Cpl Ricardo De Four of Camp Ogden at Long Circular in St James and who lives at Gutrie Street in St James; and Pte Richard Stephenson of Teteron Barracks and who lives at Mt Trace, El Socorro, San Juan.
The three civilians are Kevin Nixon, a labourer of Mars Trace, Upper Santa Cruz and brothers Kenneth and Wayne Pierre of Grand Curacaye, Bourg Mulatresse, Lower Santa Cruz.
They stood silently in the dock as the charge was read to them that sometime between April 5, 2005 and January 9, 2006, at Grand Curacaye they murdered Maharaj.
Cpl Wendell Lucas of North-Eastern Division Homicide Bureau of Investigations (HBI) laid the charge.
The three others already charged with the murder are Anderson Straker, 32, of Pierreville, Mayaro, the foster son of former Minister in the Ministry of Culture and one-time National Calypso Monarch, Winston "Gypsy" Peters; Zion Clark, 27, of Grand Curacaye, Santa Cruz and Maharaj's former common-law wife, Doreen Alexander Durity.
The three are to reappear before Chief Magistrate Sherman McNicolls at the Eighth Court for the murder on February 8.
The Daily Express understands that a warrant is out for the arrest of a tenth man and another soldier is still in custody assisting police with the investigations.
Senior Counsel Theodore Guerra is representing Stephenson and Nurse, while attorneys Keith Scotland and Evans Welsh are representing De Four and Pierre respectively.
Scotland told the court that De Four was tricked into giving a statement to the police and although he told this to Justice of the Peace Ali, he still authenticated the statement.
He added that De Four's family were at the station at the time and were not informed that the statement was given.
But police prosecutor Insp Kenneth Cordner said that no statements were given by any of the six men. He however said that notes were taken.
All attorneys called for any disclosable documents and Cordner assured them that they would get it.
He also told the court that the file will be sent to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions so that a State attorney could be assigned expeditiously.
Lee Kim transferred the matter to the Eighth Court and adjourned it to next Monday.
Maharaj, 62, a Vietnam war veteran, was abducted while at the Samaan Tree Bar near the D'Triangle in Aranjuez. He was in Trinidad visiting relatives at Chandy Lane in El Socorro.
It is reported that an undisclosed sum was paid for his safe release by his family.
Maharaj's body was found on Sunday at Grande Curacaye, Santa Cruz. His corpse was cut up and placed in a plastic barrel and a cooler and buried in two holes.
