A 28-year-old construction worker has been charged with the murder of U.S.-based Guyanese businessman Courtney Evans, who was fatally wounded during a brawl at Coomacka Mines, Upper Demerara River, late last month.
Police identified the accused as Joel Harding, a resident of Coomacka Mines. He was arrested on September 1, a day after Evans, 49, was killed.
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Harding appeared before Magistrate Ruschell Liverpool at the Linden Magistrates’ Court on Monday, where the murder charge was read. He was not required to enter a plea, as the offence is indictable, and was remanded to prison until October 20, when the case is set for disclosure.
According to a police statement, Evans had gone to Coomacka Mines Beach on August 31 with his brother, Tyrone Otis Evans, and a friend, where they encountered another group of four men and one woman. An argument erupted after the woman allegedly directed a derogatory remark at Tyrone Evans. The verbal spat escalated into a physical altercation, during which both groups exchanged blows before the woman and her companions left the scene in a white minibus.
During the confrontation, Courtney Evans sustained stab and chop wounds to his right lower back, the right side of his head, and his left elbow. He was rushed to the Linden Hospital Complex, where he died while receiving treatment.
Others were also injured in the fight. Tyrone Evans, a 47-year-old truck driver, was treated for a forehead wound. Harding sustained injuries to his left arm and right elbow, while another man, 28-year-old Evan Herman of Coomacka Mines, suffered two head wounds and required surgery. Both Tyrone Evans and Harding were treated and discharged, while Herman remained hospitalized after surgery.
Police have since taken a 22-year-old suspect and another male into custody in connection with the incident.
The case has drawn attention in both Guyana and the diaspora, as Evans, though U.S.-based, frequently returned home and was known in business circles.
