Troy Anthony Thomas, who is wanted in connection with a 2011 murder was escorted aboard an US-bound aircraft by US Marshals to be flown to Miami then on to New York to stand trial.
Troy Anthony Thomas, who is wanted in connection with a 2011 murder was escorted aboard an US-bound aircraft by US Marshals to be flown to Miami then on to New York to stand trial.
At about 1:38 pm today a Dassault Falcon 2000 twin-jet, flight number FWK772 took off with Thomas and members of the US Marshall team. They are expected to arrive in Miami at 6:01 EDT. The aircraft arrived in Guyana at 11:37 am earlier today after leaving Miami at 7:49 am for the purpose of bringing Thomas back to the USA.
Thomas is wanted in New York for the December 11, 2011 murder of 20-year-old Keith Frank who was shot once in the torso outside a South Richmond Hill party. Frank, who moved to Queens from Guyana when he was 12, died exactly two months before his 21st birthday.
The NY Police Department began looking for Thomas in connection with the shooting very soon after the crime was committed. However, within hours Thomas allegedly fled the jurisdiction and crossed over to Canada from New York State.
In Canada, he used travel documents belonging to a relative and boarded a Caribbean Airlines flight, arriving in Guyana in the early hours of the morning before the bulletin could reach Interpol (International police)
In 2012 the US Department of Justice had requested Thomas be extradited there to stand trial on three criminal charges he allegedly committed in the State of New York.
Thomas has been fighting extradition for several years and through several layers of the Guyanese justice system including multiple appeals. His argument against the extradition included a claim that he was not the Troy Thomas named in the warrant and wanted for the murder of Keith Frank. Thomas is also known as Marvin Williams but has answered to the name of Troy Thomas in court proceedings.
This extradition will set a precedence for many criminal cases backlogged in the system and will foster inter-jurisdictional agreements regarding extradition between Guyana and the USA.
