Tunapuna man acquitted of 2010 casino murder

A 37-year-old man from Tunapuna, charged with murder was acquitted on Monday by the judge presiding over his judge-only trial.

Anthony “Bussa” Contrera was found not guilty by Justice Lisa Ramsumair-Hinds.

He was before the court for the murder of security guard Qiydaar Alexander at Jackpot Casino and Members’ Club, Southern Main Road, Curepe, in January 2010.

Contrera went on trial in August.

In her verdict, Ramsumair-Hinds held that the prosecution had not proved its case and pointed to several discrepancies in the evidence.

Prosecutors had advanced evidence that Contrera, a man and two women pretended to be customers and Alexander was shot in the head before thecasino was robbed of $151,000 and its CCTV camera system.

Two patrons and two employees were also robbed.

Contrera was arrested days later after police executed a search warrant at his home at Straker Lane in Tunapuna.

The State’s case was mainly based on the evidence of casino manager, Billy John and another security guard, Arthleen Thomas, who claimed they saw the shooter.

John is said to be in Malaysia and refused to be a part of the trial when contacted by Interpol.Thomas also refused, citing fears for her safety and that of her family.

Ramsumair-Hinds said the State did not fully address challenges raised by the defence on the identification parade held by the police. She also pointed to John’s statement to the police, in which he claimed a police officer told him the number to call out in the identification parade.

As she dealt with Thomas’ evidence, the judge said she claimed Alexander had been shot at close range, but the pathologist found he was shot from a distance of two-three metres.

She also noted the discrepancies between what John and Thomas said the gunman was wearing.

After finding him not guilty, Ramsumair-Hinds urged Contrera to rejoin society as a law-abiding citizen, telling him if he did so he would not have much to regret.

He was represented by public defenders Whitney Franklin and Darryl Douglas. Anju Bhola and Sophia Sandy-Smith prosecuted.