Murder case falls apart as 3 witnesses fail to testify

Murder was the charge and a nolle prosequi, a now common word in our vocab, sounded musical to two men who appeared in court this morning. Twenty-seven year old Noel “Biggs” Usher and twenty-eight year old Edward “Chuck” Arthurs were accused in the murder of fifty-eight year old security guard, Oliver Blanco who was fatally shot in May of 2006. But the case fell apart because the three main witnesses, Shawn Robinson, Emilio Rivero and Kevin Sutherland could not be located. It was alleged in court that the men do not want to testify and have been evading police. On the night of his death, Blanco was stationed at Western Union on Regent Street when he was told that his home was being burglarized. He left work to check on his home but found out that he was wrongfully informed. But Blanco never made it back to work that night because he was accosted by two men on Fabers Road. The assailants shot Blanco in his head, chest and abdomen and he fell in the drain next to the Cumberbatch Field. His work-issued nine millimeter pistol was stolen, but police later recovered the weapon, which was hidden under a house. While both men are free of the murder charge, only Usher is actually a free man. Arthurs remains remanded in connection with an alleged rape. Usher was represented by Attorney Simeon Sampson, while David Morales appeared for Arthurs.