Man pleads in OOB murder conspiracy (Printed Jan. 29, 2010)
By Gillian Graham
Staff Writer
One of three people accused in the 2008 murder of Old Orchard Beach resident Winston George has pleaded guilty to his role in the crime.
Rennie Michael Cassimy, 48, of Brooklyn, N.Y., pleaded guilty Tuesday morning in York County Superior Court to one charge of conspiracy to commit murder. A murder charge against him was dropped as part of a plea agreement.
Assistant Attorney General Leane Zainea said the prosecution will recommend that Justice Arthur Brennan sentence Cassimy to 20 years in jail with all but eight years suspended, followed by four years probation. Certain statements Cassimy made to police cannot be used against him but can be used against others charged in the case, she said.
Also charged in the case are Winston George’s wife, Darlene George, and her brother, Jeffrey Williams, whose trials are scheduled for March. Cassimy and Darlene George were in a romantic relationship and the three conspired to kill Winston George during a staged home invasion, according to prosecutors.
Winston George, 45, was killed June 20 in the basement of his home on Smithwheel Road following a staged home invasion. Police said he was found lying in a pool of blood with a plastic bag over his head and a rum bottle placed against his lips. His ankles, wrists and neck were bound with a yellow cord, according to a state police affidavit.
Winston George’s death was reported to Old Orchard Beach Police in the early morning hours of June 20. Darlene George told police two unknown men broke into her home on the evening of June 19 and tied her and her teenage son up with bed sheets before demanding drugs and money, Zainea said.
During Cassimy’s hearing Tuesday, Zainea outlined the case the prosecution would have presented had it gone to trial. She said Darlene George’s son was prepared to testify he and his mother spent the evening of June 19 shopping and eating at a restaurant. They returned home to find the front door open and lights on in the basement, Zainea said.
The teenage son told police he and his mother were tied up by two men speaking in “fake Jamaican accents” who attacked him in his bedroom. The men were wearing face masks and white latex gloves, he said.
Zainea said statements from police and Winston George’s coworkers indicate he arrived home around 2:35 a.m. He had been at work in Sanford before visiting his girlfriend for several hours, she said. The girlfriend, Amy Casey, told police Winston George wanted to divorce his wife.
Zainea said police were able to determine the relationship between Darlene George and Cassimy based on letters, phone records, audio recordings and airline tickets. Cassimy’s birth certificate was found in her pocketbook, though she denied knowing him. Cassimy and Darlene George’s cell phones were also on the same plan, she said.
Witnesses in Old Orchard Beach were prepared to testify they saw two black men walking on Smithwheel Road the night of the murder, Zainea said. A taxi driver picked up two black men at the Captain’s Galley Restaurant in Old Orchard Beach and dropped them off at a Portland bus terminal, she said. Winston George’s car was later found at the restaurant.
Zainea said video footage from the bus terminal shows Cassimy and Williams boarding a bus to New York, where they were later arrested. Williams was carrying a camouflage duffle bag investigators later determined Darlene George purchased along with two face masks, she said.
Phone records, cell phone signals, hotel reservations and testimony from a store owner in Old Orchard Beach also placed the three together prior to the murder, Zainea said.
Defense attorney Cliff Strike said Cassimy likely will be deported to his native Trinidad and Tobago following his jail term. A sentencing date has not been set.
Heather Gonzales, another defense attorney, said Cassimy had never been in trouble before getting “caught up in an awful, awful situation.”
“He did absolutely the right thing today. He’s profoundly remorseful about what happened,” she said. “He’s devastated less by the incarceration than by the outcome of this case and how it affected a child and Mr. George’s family and friends.”
Staff Writer Gillian Graham can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 213.
Staff Writer
One of three people accused in the 2008 murder of Old Orchard Beach resident Winston George has pleaded guilty to his role in the crime.
Rennie Michael Cassimy, 48, of Brooklyn, N.Y., pleaded guilty Tuesday morning in York County Superior Court to one charge of conspiracy to commit murder. A murder charge against him was dropped as part of a plea agreement.
Assistant Attorney General Leane Zainea said the prosecution will recommend that Justice Arthur Brennan sentence Cassimy to 20 years in jail with all but eight years suspended, followed by four years probation. Certain statements Cassimy made to police cannot be used against him but can be used against others charged in the case, she said.
Also charged in the case are Winston George’s wife, Darlene George, and her brother, Jeffrey Williams, whose trials are scheduled for March. Cassimy and Darlene George were in a romantic relationship and the three conspired to kill Winston George during a staged home invasion, according to prosecutors.
Winston George, 45, was killed June 20 in the basement of his home on Smithwheel Road following a staged home invasion. Police said he was found lying in a pool of blood with a plastic bag over his head and a rum bottle placed against his lips. His ankles, wrists and neck were bound with a yellow cord, according to a state police affidavit.
Winston George’s death was reported to Old Orchard Beach Police in the early morning hours of June 20. Darlene George told police two unknown men broke into her home on the evening of June 19 and tied her and her teenage son up with bed sheets before demanding drugs and money, Zainea said.
During Cassimy’s hearing Tuesday, Zainea outlined the case the prosecution would have presented had it gone to trial. She said Darlene George’s son was prepared to testify he and his mother spent the evening of June 19 shopping and eating at a restaurant. They returned home to find the front door open and lights on in the basement, Zainea said.
The teenage son told police he and his mother were tied up by two men speaking in “fake Jamaican accents” who attacked him in his bedroom. The men were wearing face masks and white latex gloves, he said.
Zainea said statements from police and Winston George’s coworkers indicate he arrived home around 2:35 a.m. He had been at work in Sanford before visiting his girlfriend for several hours, she said. The girlfriend, Amy Casey, told police Winston George wanted to divorce his wife.
Zainea said police were able to determine the relationship between Darlene George and Cassimy based on letters, phone records, audio recordings and airline tickets. Cassimy’s birth certificate was found in her pocketbook, though she denied knowing him. Cassimy and Darlene George’s cell phones were also on the same plan, she said.
Witnesses in Old Orchard Beach were prepared to testify they saw two black men walking on Smithwheel Road the night of the murder, Zainea said. A taxi driver picked up two black men at the Captain’s Galley Restaurant in Old Orchard Beach and dropped them off at a Portland bus terminal, she said. Winston George’s car was later found at the restaurant.
Zainea said video footage from the bus terminal shows Cassimy and Williams boarding a bus to New York, where they were later arrested. Williams was carrying a camouflage duffle bag investigators later determined Darlene George purchased along with two face masks, she said.
Phone records, cell phone signals, hotel reservations and testimony from a store owner in Old Orchard Beach also placed the three together prior to the murder, Zainea said.
Defense attorney Cliff Strike said Cassimy likely will be deported to his native Trinidad and Tobago following his jail term. A sentencing date has not been set.
Heather Gonzales, another defense attorney, said Cassimy had never been in trouble before getting “caught up in an awful, awful situation.”
“He did absolutely the right thing today. He’s profoundly remorseful about what happened,” she said. “He’s devastated less by the incarceration than by the outcome of this case and how it affected a child and Mr. George’s family and friends.”
Staff Writer Gillian Graham can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 213.
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