Ex cop refused bail on charge of chopping several family members

Last Updated on Wednesday, 21 October 2015, 15:13 by GxMedia

MAGISTRATE Sueanna Lovell  Wednesday disregarded pleas from Lawyer Satesh Kissoon for bail to be granted to cutlass wielding former policeman Shawn Maltus Fordyce, who went berserk back in 2013 and alleged chopped several members of his family.

Fordyce, 42, of Lot 132 ‘D’ Field, Sophia, Greater Georgetown, was not required to plead to the indictable charge when he appeared at the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court, East Coast Demerara.

The accused, who has been on the run ever since he carried out the chopping spree in August 2013, was finally picked up by police last Tuesday on the corners of Church and Alexander Streets, in the city.

The charge read to him yesterday morning said on August 1, 2013, at ‘D’ Field, Turkeyen, East Coast Demerara, he wounded Wanda Fortune, Dorothy Blackman-Fordyce, Donnette Fordyce, and Latoya Wilson, with intent to murder them.

Police Corporal David Goodridge vehemently objected to Fordyce’s pre-trial freedom on the ground that he will tamper with the witnesses. According to him, Fordyce has since issued treats to some of the virtual complainants that harm will befall them if they failed to accept compensation and proceed to give statements to the police. Goodridge said Fordyce told the individuals that he knows where they live and work.

A second ground Goodridge offered the court was that Fordyce would not return for his trial once sent on bail. The prosecutor pointed out that this is due to the fact that he has been on the run for more than two years now. This accused, Goodridge said, has been evading police every time they attempted to apprehend them.

Furthermore, Goodridge said the virtual complainants live in fear for their lives and that it is expected that Fordyce will commit an offence of an even greater magnitude should he be set free.

Lawyer Kissoon told the court that there has since been reconciliation with his client and his wife, who, incidentally, was one of the persons injured in the attack. The lawyer also claimed that two other virtual complainants do not wish to proceed in the matter.

The magistrate responded that the fact alone that Fordyce was evading police for so long ties her hands with respect to the granting of bail.

She observed that that was was a serious matter and she would not just settle on the point of the virtual complainants indicating to the court that they would no longer proceed. She advised that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) be contacted on this issue.

Fordyce was remanded to prison and the matter will be called again on November 12.

Meanwhile, Police had issued a wanted bulletin for Fordyce more than two years ago when he had allegedly launched a cutlass attack on his wife and three children in their Sophia home. An argument had reportedly developed between the attacker and his wife because he did not want her to leave the house.

The accused allegedly hacked away at his wife, known as ‘Paper Lady,’ and later turned his attention to three children in the home, which included attorney-at-law Wanda Fortune.

Fortune has since told this publication that the moment she heard her step-father was picked up, she dropped everything and went to the police station to confirm that it was him. “I am ecstatic that he is finally caught. You can run, but not forever,” she said.

 She recalled how the attack still affected one of her sisters who cannot yet use one of her hands properly. Another sister almost died twice on the operating table, Fortune recalled.