A 23-year-old man has been slapped with a manslaughter charge in connection with the death of 15-year-old Arif Azeez, who died during an outing at the Hot and Cold Lake, Essequibo Coast, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) on Easter Monday.
Shemar Smith, also known as “Short Man”, of Adventure, Essequibo Coast, on Friday appeared before Magistrate Ravindra Mohabir at the Anna Regina Magistrate’s Court, where the charge was read to him.
He was granted bail in the sum of $750,000 and the matter was adjourned to April 30.
It was initially reported that Azeez had visited the lake around midday with four friends for a recreational outing. Azeez was operating a red-and-white Jet Ski, while another friend was on a blue Jet Ski.
One of the friends told police that while riding along the shoreline, Azeez’s Jet Ski began running low on fuel. Azeez reportedly told his friend to continue while he attempted to manage the remaining fuel.
At about 16:00h, the friend said he observed Azeez maneuvering in a zigzag pattern before falling headfirst into the water. The friend said he went to assist but was unable to locate Azeez.
After the body was pulled from the lake the following day, it was observed that it bore multiple injuries, including a broken foot and head trauma thus leaving relatives to believe that foul play was involved in the young man’s death.
A postmortem examination revealed that the teen died from drowning compounded by multiple injuries.
While the matter was initially treated as a drowning, the investigation took a different turn following the results of the autopsy, which led police to believe there was a collision between the two jet skis, resulting in the teen falling overboard.
Based on further investigations, the manslaughter charge was instituted against Smith.
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