A Guayaguayare man accused of killing a teenager from the area in 2019 has been granted bail by a High Court judge.

On Thursday, Justice Carla Brown-Antoine granted $350,000 bail to Timothy Romany, 22, after she found there were no substantial grounds for believing he would abscond, interfere with witnesses or commit further offences if released on bail.

Romany’s bail is to be approved by a registrar with a surety and he must report to the police station closest to his home once a week.

Romany was also put on a 9 pm-5 am curfew and ordered not to contact any of the witnesses in the case. He also has to surrender his passport and is prohibited from applying for one without the court’s permission.

Romany was arrested in March 2020 for the murder of 16-year-old Christian Smith on July 7, 2019.

Police said Smith was in the living room of his New Lands Village, Guayaguayare, home at around 11.45 pm when he was shot several times.

His mother found his body with gunshot wounds to the face.

The preliminary inquiry into Smith’s murder is expected to begin in January 2023 at the Mayaro Magistrates’ Court.

At the bail hearing held at the San Fernando High Court, Brown-Antoine was not convinced of the strength of the prosecution’s case. She also considered Smith’s good character as he has no pending criminal charges against him nor was he convicted of anything before he was charged with the murder.

Romany was represented by attorney Yves Jacques Nicholson while the State was represented by senior prosecutor Anju Bhola.

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