A businessman from Bartica, Cuyuni–Mazaruni has been cleared of attempted murder and felonious wounding charges after the case was dismissed for lack of evidence.
Vivendra Balgobin of Fifth Avenue, Bartica, was accused of shooting Conroy Cox, known as “Pinkboy,” a labourer of Third Avenue, and 18-year-old Lavella Douglas outside a nightclub on August 30, 2023. The charges stemmed from an altercation at the Paradise Nightclub, where Balgobin allegedly discharged multiple rounds, injuring Cox and Douglas.
The case was initially brought before Magistrate Crystal Lambert at the Bartica Magistrates’ Court in September 2023. Balgobin was released on $800,000 bail and ordered to lodge his passport.
However, on Tuesday, Magistrate Tariq Mohamed upheld a no-case submission filed by Balgobin’s attorney, Bernard Da Silva. The submission argued that the prosecution had failed to present sufficient evidence to support the felonious wounding charge. The attempted murder charge had earlier been withdrawn by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
In court, Da Silva highlighted several deficiencies in the prosecution’s case, including the absence of eyewitness testimony directly linking Balgobin to the shooting and a lack of CCTV footage from the scene. During cross-examination, Douglas reportedly did not identify Balgobin or any other individual as the shooter.
The prosecution had alleged that the incident occurred after a dispute inside the nightclub, where a friend of Balgobin reportedly bumped into the table where Cox and his girlfriend were seated, spilling their drinks. An argument ensued during which Cox allegedly threw a drink in Balgobin’s face and assaulted him. Cox reportedly left the club but returned and continued to verbally abuse Balgobin, who then allegedly used his licensed firearm to shoot in Cox’s direction, hitting him in the abdomen and injuring Douglas in the hand.
