July 31, 2008
Prisoner died of blunt trauma - relative
Nolan Noble
A post-mortem examination conducted yesterday on the remains of Nolan Noble, the Camp Street prisoner who was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital on Saturday, showed that he died from blunt force trauma to the head, a relative said last evening. Several attempts to confirm this with the police yesterday were futile.
According to the dead man’s brother, Royston, the examination took place sometime yesterday morning and was witnessed by his mother. He said that he has since been told that the back of his brother’s head was flat.
Noble’s relatives are calling for a full investigation into his death due to the conflicting reports they have so far received. The Guyana Prison Service has made nothing public since the incident was first highlighted in the media on Monday.
Noble, 35, formerly of Fairs Rust, Mc Kenzie, Lin-den was pronounced dead on arrival at the Georgetown Hospital around 1 pm. There were reports that there was a suspicious mark on his forehead and another behind his head. Hospital sources had told this newspaper that they were told that the man was epileptic and may have had an attack during which he fell and hit his head.
When he arrived at the hospital, blood was oozing from his nose but according to reports there were no marks of violence on the body. The man had been suffering from mental illness for 11 years now and had had several brushes with the law, the most recent being a charge of murder.
Noble was on remand for the murder of Ricardo Allicock, who was killed on a basketball court at Christian-burg in Linden several years ago. At the time of his death, the matter had not been completed.
Speaking via phone from his home in Linden yesterday, Noble’s younger brother, Royston expressed suspicions about the way his brother died. The man dispelled reports in the media that his brother was “mad” or was suffering from epilepsy. “He was not mad, he had mental problems and that was caused by drug use… I never knew my brother to be suffering from anything. As far as I know he was physically fit”, the man said.
He said that he had so far received two different accounts of how his brother may have died and in light of this he believes that there should be a full investigation into the death. Royston said that a man who identified himself as a prison officer was the first to make contact with him.
He said that after asking him some questions and talking slowly, the officer told him that his brother was not well and was taken to the hospital. “After beating around the bush, he tell me how my brother dead and I ask he how? He told me that how it appears as though he died in his sleep”, Royston said adding that when he heard that he immediately knew “that something wasn’t right”.
Royston said that a female warder later contacted him and said that they found him lying in his cell before promptly ending the call. He said that the woman subsequently called back and said that his brother was found lying motionless and he had what appeared to be a puncture wound at the back of his head and above his right eye.
Drug Abuse
Royston told this newspaper that he last saw his brother earlier in the year and all looked well. He said that his brother reported no problems to him. According to him, Noble’s mental instability was caused by drug abuse which was influence by friends and peer pressure.
He said that his brother had already graduated from the Linden Technical Institute (LTI) when he started to have mental problems and would go through periods of psychosis. Due to his mental state, Noble has over the years been in and out of prison. In addition to the current murder charge, he was accused of a previous murder but was acquitted.
Noble who will be buried sometime next week also leaves to mourn his mother Claudette and a 16-year-old son, Marlon. Noble’s death comes just after another prisoner, Edwin Niles died at the Georgetown Hospital after sustaining injuries at the Georgetown prison during questioning about ammunition that he was found with.
His death raised concerns about torture and there have been several calls for an independent inquiry into his demise. A post-mortem examination revealed that he died from a clot in his lungs as a result of burns. (Zoisa Fraser/Stabroek News)
July 25, 2008
Scrap dealer murdered by bike bandit
$2M grabbed from wife
Akbar Alli
A 35-year-old scrap metal dealer was fatally shot yesterday afternoon on Brickdam by one of two bandits who had seconds before snatched a bag containing some $2 million from his wife.
Dead is Akbar Alli, a member of the Guyana Islamic Trust and resident of Logwood, Enmore, East Coast Demerara. He sustained a single gunshot wound to the chest just after 1 pm yesterday and died at the Georgetown Public Hospital some 15 minutes later while undergoing treatment. Hospital sources told this newspaper that when the man arrived at the institution he was gasping for air.
Stabroek News was told that Alli would travel to Georgetown almost on a daily basis to withdraw money from a city bank to pay his workers and to buy scrap metal. From all appearances, the two bandits trailed him on a motorcycle and when the car stopped, they pounced.
According to the police, their investigations have so far revealed that Alli and his wife went to a city bank where they transacted some business. They then went to another city bank and then proceeded to Brickdam with the intention of transacting business with an auto dealer.
Alli, according to the police, parked his motor vehicle and he and his wife, who was holding a bag containing $2.1 million were about to exit the vehicle when two men rode up on a motorcycle. The pillion rider, who was armed with a handgun, held them up and took away the bag and the men the rode away.
Alli began running behind the motorcycle and the armed man then shot him in his chest. Investigations are continuing and up to press time last evening, no one had been held. A man who was in the area when the robbery/murder occurred said he heard the gunshot and when he looked he saw a man on his knees at the side of the car and two unmasked men, both dressed in white t-shirts, riding away on a motorcycle.
He said they were speeding so it was hard to see any faces from where he was standing. The witness told this newspaper that one of the men had a small bag with two straps in his hand. Others in the immediate area of the shooting said that they too heard a single gunshot but by the time they ventured out to see what had happened, the injured man had already been whisked away to the hospital and there was nothing to indicate that something had indeed occurred.
A man working a short distance away said when he arrived at the scene a crowd had gathered and he was informed that a man was shot during a robbery. He said he had heard what sounded liked a gunshot. The man, like many others in that area, was shocked to hear that the man had died at the hospital.
Meanwhile at the hospital, loud wails erupted from the treatment room at the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Unit as the man’s relatives got news of his passing. Relatives and workers flocked the area with saddened expressions on their faces. Some had tears welling in their eyes. Many of those this newspaper spoke with said that they were unaware of what actually transpired as they were informed via telephone about the tragedy.
One relative said that it was Alli’s wife who called and informed him of the shooting. He said that from what he was told it was the wife that drove the injured man to the hospital. Over at the East Coast community, villagers were in shock. At his home, which was surrounded by piles of scrap iron, workers were busily carrying out their regular duties.
One worker told Stabroek News, “he [Alli] was a really, really nice person. If ya sick he there fuh you, if ya need money he there for you. He was a gentle and kind man…liked by all in the community.” This newspaper was told that Alli, who had been in the scrap metal business for some four years, had built a masjid for members of his community opposite his home.
The businessman provided work for some 30 to 40 persons on a daily basis. His brother Zaman was in shock. The man said that as he was preparing to leave his home after hearing of the shooting, he got another call informing him that his brother was dead. Alli leaves behind two young children, his wife Rameena and eight siblings. (Zoisa Fraser/Stabroek News)
July 23, 2008
Emotions run high as …Lindo families give DNA
Relative: ‘It is not Fineman, .....
.....Fineman is a figment of their very small thinking’
Emotions ran high yesterday when relatives of those killed at Lindo Creek visited the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Eve Leary to provide DNA samples in the hope that they match burnt remains found at the mining camp in June.
There was wailing, silent tears and angry outbursts as relatives of seven of those killed found themselves together for the first time. No relative of Bonny Harry, who was the manager of the camp, was present.
Hair and saliva samples were taken from the relatives, who included the nine-year-old son of Compton Speirs, Orin. The samples were taken by members of the Jamaican investigative team which arrived in the country last Friday. The investigators are expected to also obtain samples from the burnt remains which were taken from the storage place at Lyken Funeral Home at around midday yesterday and carried to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC).
While most of the relatives expressed some amount of satisfaction that they may now have something of their loved ones to bury they indicated that the burning question on their minds is who killed the men. The relatives said that is the most important question that needed to be answered to ensure that justice prevails for the eight miners who were brutally killed.
And at least one relative, the mother of 17-year-old Nigel Torres, Yonette Torres, told Stabroek News that she would not be collecting any remains to claim as her son’s. The woman, who wailed uncontrollably when she entered the CID building said she could never be sure that what is given to her indeed belonged to her son.
While mining owner Leonard Arokium, who lost his son and brother in the tragedy, did not visit the CID as he said he was not well, his sister and son visited to have samples taken for his brother, Cedric Arokium and son, Dax, respectively.
The sister, Lorna Arokium, said it was a very difficult process as it is the closest she will ever come to receiving the remains of her brother. She said on Monday night she was unable to sleep as she was very nervous. The woman called out for justice and said she hopes that whoever committed the heinous act will eventually be placed behind bars.
‘Small thinking’
As Compton Speirs’ son left CID headquarters yesterday he was surrounded by several relatives who were very outspoken in calling on Acting Commissioner of Police Henry Greene to tell all he knows.
A sister of the man, Patricia Hutson Esquire, called on Greene to stop covering up for “his forces.” She said he speaks “arbitrary”. “But I am not afraid”, she said, stating her view that it was the Joint Services who “killed my brother and the others” and that the police know it. “It is not Fineman (Rondell Rawlins), Fineman is a figment of their very small thinking,” the woman said.
Police had said they encountered `Fineman’ and his gang during a confrontation at Christmas Falls on June 6. They said that one of the gunmen was killed while six others managed to escape. The eight miners were believed to have been murdered sometime after this date.
Speirs’ sister has now expressed a view similar to what Leonard Arokium had declared following the June 21 discovery of bones and skulls at Camp Lindo. The Joint Services have since strongly denied this. Greene subsequently indicated that initial findings of the Trinidadian forensic experts who visited a few days ago supported the police theory.
To picket UN
However, Patricia and her relatives were adamant that something is wrong and she said that she would continue to speak out as no one can hurt her and even if this is done it would be just her flesh. The woman vowed to picket the United Nations (UN) office.
And the weeping mother of Lancelot Lee, Olinda Debydin said that she would just keep praying as she hopes that the truth will one day prevail. “I would pray and hope that we know the truth, we cannot get on bad, I believe that prayer would bring things to light,” the woman said as she silently wept, stating that she misses her son very much.
The man’s brother, Wayne Lee, who also made the visit said that the DNA testing is one part of the investigation and not really the most important part as the big questions remains is “Who did it?” He said that is the question that needs to be answered. The same sentiments were expressed by the relatives of Horace Drakes and Clifton Wong, Lena Waldron and Courtney Wong, mother and brother of the two men respectively.
Waldron said that her entire family is very disturbed by the incident even more so because they believe that they are not being told the truth “and this leaves you with a heavy burden.” She said that she hopes that one day the truth will prevail and she questioned why the authorities did not seek the help of the experts in the United Kingdom whose assistance the family of the men had sought.
The woman had told Stabroek News before making the visit to CID that she is not comfortable with the Jamaicans doing the testing as she would have preferred the experts from the UK. “Right now I am just going through the motion,” the woman had said to this newspaper. Courtney complained it took too long to arrive at the point they are at today in respect to the DNA testing while asking when “the real investigation will start.”
Sledge hammer
A very disturbed Yonette Torres, who along with her husband made the long trip from Kwakwani, said yesterday that she really misses her 17-year-old son. Initially she did not want him to make the trip but because she knows the manager of the camp, Bonny Harry, she decided to send the lad. “I still have his boots under me house and every time I look at it I does cry, Nigel was a very helpful child, he use to always help we. He father really taking it bad, it is hard,” the woman said yesterday.
She said what hurts even more is that the possibility exists that her sledge hammer could have been used to kill her own son. She recalled that Harry had visited their home and said he needed something very heavy to assist in repairing an engine. “My husband give he the sledge hammer and he had to leave he clothes and things by we because he say the sledge hammer done heavy.” It was this sledge hammer that is believed to have been found at the site with traces of blood on it. It is believed whoever killed the men used it to beat at least one of them in the head.
With her finger pointed to the sky Torres said, “I am not pointing my finger at anyone, I only pointing my finger to God. Justice will come, those who kill them, people crying on them day and night and I know justice will come,” the woman said. “I woulda be satisfy a little if is just shoot alone dem get and we get a body to bury, but why they had to burn them?”
Torres also questioned why members of the Joint Services were not able to detect the smoke from the fire that was used to burn the men and their belongings. “They went there, now me son had a big hammock… and a long boots and the others had things and all dem things with the bodies burn up. Why the police and the army who say they was in the area ent see thick billowing smoke?” (Oluatoyin Alleyene/Stabroek News)
July 22, 2008
Armed bandit kills Guyanese man in Barbados bar
Grabs cash, wounds Guyanese proprietress
A Guyanese man was shot and killed at a restaurant and bar in Barbados on Saturday night and a woman injured following an attack by a lone gunman who carted off an undisclosed amount of cash.
Dead is Christopher Anthony Griffith of Redman Village, St Thomas. Silochani Samuels, also a Guyanese and of Redman Village, St Thomas, was shot in the arm and is currently in a serious but stable condition in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
A police release provided to this newspaper by Nation News in Barbados said a man with his face covered and armed with a firearm entered the Hippo Bar and Caribbean Restaurant on Lower Bay Street, St Michael some time around 7 pm on Saturday and robbed the cashier of an undisclosed sum of money.
”During the robbery the assailant also discharged a number of shots wounding the proprietress, Guyanese national, Silochani Samuels who resides at Redman Village, St Thomas, in the area of her right arm, and Christopher Anthony Griffith, another Guyanese national who also resided at Redman Village, St Thomas in his head,” the release said.
Griffith was later pronounced dead at the scene while Samuels was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital where she is hospitalized, the release said, adding that Griffith’s death was being treated as “unnatural”. The bar has since been closed.
Police investigations are continuing. Information reaching the Stabroek News is that the two have been residing and working in Barbados for a number of years. (Stabroek News)
Man critical after Lombard Street shootout with cops
A man who was shot by police allegedly during an armed confrontation on Lombard Street early yesterday morning is currently a patient of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Georgetown Hospital, while his accomplice is in custody assisting with investigations.
Maxwell Parris, 29, of D’Urban Street is in a critical condition at the medical institution having sustained gunshot injuries to the left forearm and abdomen. He was taken to the operating theatre shortly after his 3.50 am arrival.
While the circumstances of the shooting is unclear, this newspaper was told that it is suspected that the men were involved in a robbery and were chased by police through Harold Street, Werk-en-Rust, which links High and Lombard streets.
A press release from the police said that around 3.40 am ranks responded to a reports of two men being seen on the roof of Foo’s General Store building at Lombard Street , Georgetown. On arrival at the scene, the release said, the ranks came under fire from one of the men and they returned fire hitting Parris in the process. He was admitted to the hospital, while the other man has been arrested and is in police custody.
When Stabroek News visited the area several hours after the shooting business was in full swing and several persons were aware of the incident. One woman said that a security guard working in the area told her that he heard a barrage of gunfire and just lay flat on the floor of his guard hut. She said that from what she was told the injured man and several others were involved in a robbery but were challenged by the police on Harold Street.
The woman added that after the gunfire had subsided, the police whisked the injured man away from the scene, while the other man denied being involved in any wrong doing. There were no reports reaching this newspaper that any store in the area had any breakages or that items were stolen. The woman added that more that two men were involved in the incident and when the police left the area, the others came out of their hiding places.
Meanwhile armed robberies and petty crimes are a daily occurrence on Lombard Street and this has been the case for several years. A woman working in the area told this newspaper that the thieves have become so brazen they were committing gunpoint robberies during the day. She recalled that just recently a woman was walking along the road around 8 am talking on her cellular phone when she was stuck up at gunpoint and relieved of the phone and the money she had.
She recounted another case where a heavily pregnant woman was robbed. The woman said more and more the criminal elements were flocking the area to rob people of things they have worked hard to earn. Because of the street’s reputation, police constantly patrol the area. (Stabroek News)
Body of man found at 63 Beach
The body of an unidentified man of African descent was discovered at Number 63 Beach, Corentyne yesterday bearing marks of violence to the throat and burns about the body.
Police said in a release that the man was slim built; 5’3” in height, dark in complexion and appeared to be in his mid-twenties. He was found wearing a mauve jersey, blue hard pants and orange coloured boots.
Anyone with information that may lead to the identification of the body is asked to contact the police on telephone numbers 225-6411, 225-3650, 226-6978, 911 or the nearest police station. (Stabroek News)
July 19, 2008
GHRA calls fot impartial probe of prisoner's death
Edwin Niles
`Charges appropriate to the severity of the crime should be laid promptly, if only to quell the rapid disintegration of official credibility on these issues’.
The Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) is calling for an impartial and vigorous investigation into the death of prisoner Edwin Niles and for the matter not to be treated as exempt from the normal processes of the law because the disciplined services are involved.
The group added its voice in condemning Niles’ death from “horrific injuries sustained under torture in Camp Street, Georgetown prison allegedly at the hands of a combination of members of the Prison and members of other Disciplined Services.” It said too Niles’ death reinforces the suspicion that these services are “encouraged to get results at any cost when arms and ammunition are involved.”
Further, the association said it is difficult for it to reconcile this event with the normal prison culture and to this end noted that despite criticisms levelled at prevailing conditions in the main prisons over time the Guyana Prison Service (GPS) has taken systematic steps to incorporate human rights training and enlightened programmes into the prison regime.
The GHRA said these efforts have been constantly undermined by overcrowding combined with staff shortages, issues over which it says, the GPS exercises no control. “Efforts by the judiciary to address overcrowding through more flexible bail policies have been rebuffed and ridiculed by short-sighted ministers and other government agencies,” the statement said.
However, the GHRA said that stressful conditions under which the understaffed prison services operate “should, in no way, be used to rationalize the horror of Niles’ death.” It said in trying to understand the sudden descent by members of the GPS into extreme brutality one must also take into account the early involvement of the GDF in the incident.
The concept of “Joint Services”, the release said appears in practice to facilitate the transmission of the torture virus and culture from the GDF to the other disciplined services. The GHRA said the increased savagery of criminal violence in recent times is provoking similar savagery in the response of the disciplined services and in this respect “the criminals and the disciplined services appear to feed off each other.”
Further, the GHRA noted that while attention is being directed at the circumstances surrounding the man’s death, there is complete silence regarding how he may have come into possession of ammunition while labouring at base Camp Ayanganna. The army has reportedly launched its own investigations into how the ammunition was taken from its base.
Niles had reportedly taken a pair of pants from a room he was cleaning at Camp Ayanganna and was caught with the ammunition in its pockets during a routine check upon return to the prison. He was interrogated, during which time he was allegedly beaten and burnt and later put into the hands of the police, then taken to the Georgetown hospital.
The man succumbed to his injuries nine days later and a post-mortem examination revealed that he died of blood clots in the lungs due to burns about the back. He also suffered a fractured left arm.
`Charges appropriate to the severity of the crime should be laid promptly, if only to quell the rapid disintegration of official credibility on these issues’ (Stabroek News)
Roger Khan drug trial Judge writes Guyana for witness help
Justice Dora L. Irizarry, who is presiding over the Roger Khan drug trial, has written to judicial authorities in Guyana seeking assistance in obtaining evidence from eight witnesses for the defence to be used in the trial set to commence on November 3.
In the letter, seen by this newspaper, the judge said her court is seeking “international judicial assistance to obtain evidence to be used in a criminal proceeding before this court… in accordance with Laws of Guyana, Chapter 5:01 Evidence (Proceedings in Foreign Tribunals) Act).
The judge said the witnesses “may have information material to the trial of this matter, but have indicated that they are unwilling to travel to the United States to testify at the trial.” She had therefore ordered on June 2 last that the depositions be taken locally, following a request by the defence.
The letter said the court needed the assistance in the interest of justice. “The assistance requested is that the appropriate judicial authority of Guyana compel the appearances of the [witnesses] to give evidence at a deposition in Guyana,” the letter said. The names of the witnesses were redacted from the court document so as to protect their identities.
The court requested that the witnesses be examined in Guyana orally and under oath by counsel for Khan and by counsel for the prosecution. A request was also made for the latter to be permitted to participate in the depositions from the US via video-conferencing.
The depositions would be taken in accordance with Guyana’s laws and they would be “contemporaneously recorded at the arrangement and expense of defendant Khan for the purpose of creating a verbatim transcript, and may be videotaped at the arrangement and expense of defendant Khan if the rules permit.
“It is requested that the depositions take place as promptly as the parties may arrange, at a time and place in Georgetown, Guyana, to be arranged by the parties,” the letter said.
“Each witness who is required to attend and be examined shall be paid by defendant Khan such fees and expenses as are allowed for the attendance of a witness in civil proceedings before the judicial authorities of Guyana. Any cost incurred by the judicial authorities of Guyana in executing this request shall be subject to reimbursement by defendant Khan.”
The judge also offered to “entertain any requests for similar judicial assistance which the appropriate authority of Guyana may from time to time find it appropriate to make.” The Guyana Government has indicated its interest in gathering information from the US on claims that Khan was close to a group which may be responsible for around 200 killings.
Khan is facing 18 counts of conspiracy to import cocaine into the US between 2001 and 2006 and heading a criminal enterprise. He is charged with violating the narcotics law of the US. It is unclear if the request has already been received by the authorities here. Trans-mittal is usually done via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (Stabroek News)
July 18, 2008
Arokium fears for his life
Leonard Arokium
Leonard Arokium the owner of the Lindo Creek mining camp where eight miners including his son and brother were killed about a month ago, believes that his life is in imminent danger in the wake of checks on his movements by a group of men unknown to him.
A letter was dispatched yesterday to Commissioner of Police Henry Greene, signed by a representative on behalf of Arokium’s attorney Nigel Hughes who is currently overseas, advising him of Arokium’s fears. Hughes said he had been instructed that a group of six men have been making various inquiries in his client’s immediate neighbourhood about the location of his home, his movements and the persons who reside with him.The letter further said that Arokium had been advised to make a report to the police station “But we fear that this is a real and present danger which requires your most urgent personal intervention.” Further, it said that the Arokium family has already suffered untold pain at their most recent loss and to compound their tragedy with the possibility of the loss of another family would be heinous.
Hughes said too that he hoped that in the light of Arokium’s suspicions “about the identity of the perpetrators of the Lindo Creek Massacre” that the Guyana Police Force (GPF) would spare no effort in protecting his life. “Our client remains available to speak with you personally about this plight,” the letter said, adding that Arokium fears that should information be shared with other members of the GPF it “may unwittingly find its way into the hands of those who are the subject of the information.”
Arokium told Stabroek News that he believes that the threats to him are a result of his outspokenness about the slaying of his men. From the beginning Arokium had made it clear that he felt it was the lawmen who had slaughtered and then burnt the remains of his men.
He said his claims were based on his knowledge of the geography of the area and that it would have been impossible for wanted man Rondell Rawlins and his gang to be escaping the net set by lawmen and turn back to kill his men. He said too that the lawmen’s claim that the job had the mark of Rawlins’s gang was baseless.
The bodies of the eight men were burnt along with their belongings. This would have caused a fire that would have been seen from overhead. Throughout the search for the gang in the Upper Berbice River area, the army’s Bell 206 helicopter was said to be up and running; aiding the lawmen’s mission. However, to date neither the police nor army has reported seeing any flames from overhead.
Experts from Trinidad and Jamaica are assisting the local authorities is analyzing the crime scene and confirming that the remains found at the camp site are indeed those of the men who are believed dead.
Meanwhile, Arokium says he has not gotten any word from the lawmen as regards their stated intention to conduct DNA tests. He had told this newspaper that the police had asked him to advise the relatives of the men believed dead of their intention. This newspaper was not able to determine if Greene had received the letter. (Stabroek News)
July 16, 2008
Gunmen shoot up vehicle on Ogle airstrip road
Cops hunting ‘Trini’, ‘Yankee’, ‘Capone’, ‘Sandman’
Police last night said they were hunting for four men after gunmen with high-powered rifles shot wildly at a pick-up on the Ogle Airstrip Road and chased it in their vehicle while continuing their gunfire until it reached the East Coast Public Road.
During the midday ordeal which lasted around five minutes, the driver of the pick-up was shot in his buttocks and a female passenger injured her knee. They were both admitted to the Georgetown Hospital.
The police last night said they were looking for four men whose call names are `Trini’; `Yankee’; `Capone’ and `Sandman’. It urged members of the public who know the whereabouts of these men to contact the police.
It is believed that the gunmen were after what was being transported in the vehicle since according to information reaching this newspaper, the driver, Michael Jackson would usually transport goods coming out of the interior for a Brazilian company based in central Georgetown and other persons.
Up to press time last night, Jackson, 32, of Kitty and Vanessa Mendonca, 34, were patients of the city hospital. Jackson sustained a bullet wound to the buttocks and was taken to the operating theatre to have it removed while Mendonca is nursing cuts from broken glass to her knees and other parts of the body. Her knee had to be bandaged.
A statement from police yesterday stated that they are investigating the attempted robbery that occurred around 12.15 pm along the Ogle Access Road, ECD. “Investigations so far revealed that Michael Jackson who is employed with an interior charter service had gone to the Ogle Aerodrome to collect cargo and other items and was on his way out from the aerodrome in motor jeep GJJ 7277”, said the release.
It added that a flight dispatcher of the same charter service, Margaret Maxius along with two female cleaners and a male porter who worked at the aerodrome, were being given a lift by Jackson. According to the release, upon approaching the Access Road, Jackson observed a motor car parked across the road and a man standing outside with a firearm with two other men inside. Suspecting a robbery attempt, it added, he accelerated the vehicle and the gunmen opened fire.
The attackers, police said gave chase in the motor car, discharging rounds at the vehicle but as Jackson reached the East Coast public road, the men turned back and escaped along the Railway Embankment. The release said that Jackson managed to drive his vehicle to near the Sparendaam Police Station before losing consciousness. The cleaner, Mendonca sustained cuts to her feet from glass fragments while the other persons were uninjured.
Jackson’s vehicle was left with a number of bullet holes and the rear windscreen was shattered. A 7.62 x 39 spent shell and a warhead at the scene was discovered at the scene of the shooting. Police are continuing their investigations.
The injured duo was taken to the Accident and Emergency Unit at 12.41 pm yesterday.
Stabroek News understands that as the black Tundra pick up that was transporting the five persons turned left onto the access road the occupants noticed a maroon-coloured car which appeared to be an AT 192 Carina model parked at the side of the road.
About four men armed with “long guns” were standing nearby and as the pick-up approached the men just opened fire before jumping into their vehicle and continuing to fire as the two vehicles sped north along the road. Residents in the area recalled hearing one set of gunfire and then another set several seconds later.
Recounting her frightening ordeal, Mendonca told this newspaper that when the men started firing Jackson continued driving and everyone else in the vehicle was screaming.
From all appearance the men might have been tracking Jackson’s movement and were waiting for him to leave the aerodrome. This newspaper understands that Jackson makes frequent trips from the aerodrome to the city.
“We tell he keep driving”
Mendonca said that despite Jackson being shot they urged him to continue driving.
“He get shoot but we tell he keep driving… When we reach the public road, he loose the steering wheel and me ain’t know how we manage to turn. God was with us. We just kept praying”, the woman said, the fear still evident in her voice.
She added that while the gunmen were shooting the glass on the left side of the vehicle was shattered as a result of which she sustained cuts. She recalled that they were screaming and the two vehicles sped along the road. When they raised their heads shortly after crossing over the railway line, the car with the gunmen was nowhere in sight.
Mendonca said they may have turned down the Railway Line while Jackson went straight across in the direction of the public road. They managed to reach the Sparendaam Police Station nearby, she added. Asked what could have triggered the incident, she said that it appears that the motive was robbery as Jackson transported items brought by aircraft from interior locations.
Gunshots licking all round
When Stabroek News visited the area yesterday afternoon, things were back to normal. Residents recalled hearing countless shots followed by two vehicles speeding along the access road.
One resident said that she heard the shots but by the time she got to her veranda she could not see anything as trees were blocking her line of sight. She however said that she understands that police were in the area conducting investigations.
Another resident said that she heard “many, many” gunshots and when she looked out she saw a burgundy coloured car trailing a pick up. “Them two din speeding down the road… shots licking left, right and centre”, the resident said. (Zoisa Fraser/Stabroek News)
July 11, 2008
Charged with murdering father
Sunalall Ruplall
Nandalall Ruplall, the 20-year-old man who allegedly hit his 49-year-old father in the head, was charged with murder when he appeared before Magistrate Hazel Octive-Hamilton at the Wales Magistrate’s Court yesterday.
The man’s father, Sunalall Ruplall of Lot 3 Rosetta, Canal Number One, West Bank Demerara, died last Wednesday at the Georgetown Public Hospital after he was allegedly hit by his son.
Ruplall had previously appeared before Magistrate Fazil Azeez at the Vreed-en-Hoop Magistrate’s Court on a charge of attempted murder, to which he was not required to plead and was remanded to prison last Wednesday.
However, yesterday the charge of attempted murder was withdrawn and Ruplall was charged with murder. He was remanded to prison and the matter will continue before the Wales Magistrate’s Court shortly.
The men’s relatives blamed liquor as the cause of the tragedy. They had told Stabroek News that the younger Ruplall, who is Sunalall’s only son, had returned home on Sunday afternoon with his behaviour showing that he had consumed alcohol. (Stabroek News)
July 8, 2008
Lindo Creek massacre Arokium challenges police to produce ‘eyewitness’
Leonard Arokium
Dredge owner, Leonard Arokium has challenged the police to produce the eyewitness they say they have fingering Guyana’s most wanted, Rondell ‘Fineman’ Rawlins and his gang as being responsible for the deaths of the eight miners at Lindo Creek sometime last month.
Commissioner of Police (ag), Henry Greene was quoted in yesterday’s Kaieteur News as saying that the witness provided details to substantiate that the killings were carried out by the Fineman gang.
Contacted by Stabroek News yesterday, Arokium said if the police have the witness then they should produce him. He said that if there is indeed such a person then that person should also be investigated as he/she may be an accomplice in the murders.
Stabroek News attempted to make contact with Greene and Crime Chief Seelall Persaud yesterday on the report but was unsuccessful. Following the June 21 discovery of bones and skulls believed to be those of the eight miners, Arokium had accused the members of the joint services who had been in the area of carrying out the attack. The joint services have since strongly denied this.
Those who were killed at the site were Dax Arokium, Cedric Arokium, Compton Speirs, Horace Drakes, Clifton Wong, Lancelot Lee, Bonny Harry and Nigel Torres. The police have since said that ballistics tests on the spent shells discovered at the scene found that they match one of the weapons that was recovered by the security forces from Cecil Ramcharran called ‘Uncle Willie’ and Robin Chung called ‘Chung Boy’ who were slain at Goat Farm during a confrontation with lawmen
Yesterday Arokium said that it seems all too convenient that the police would suddenly find someone who claimed to have witnessed the murders of his men. He questioned why this eyewitness had not reported the matter to the police from the inception instead of him having to travel to his mining camp and being the first person to know that his men were killed and burnt to bones.
Arokium also disclosed that on Saturday an Assistant Commissioner of Police, who heads a special unit in the force, and other officers visited his home and further questioned him, asking him if he wanted to recant anything he had initially said. He said he told them that he has been telling the truth all the time and has no reason to withdraw anything he would have said.
He was then told by the officers the man who he had allegedly said told him that his son Dax and the lawmen in the area had among other things killed and shared the remains of a cow has denied ever telling him so. “They told me that the man is prepared to come and stand up in front of me and deny it and I just laugh because I know what he tell me and I telling the truth,” the man said.
According to him the person who told him this was the watchman who was at a mining camp located some miles away from his camp and who had been sought by the authorities. The sharing of the meat suggested that the lawmen had been aware of where the Arokium camp was located.
And relatives of Compton Speirs reported yesterday that last Thursday the police visited their home with a bag of muddied clothing and asked whether they belonged to Speirs. Relatives said they told the police that they did not recognise the clothing and the police then asked for a statement on when last they had seen Speirs.
They were uneasy about the fact that one of the lawmen did a detailed inspection of their yard. Relatives of Drakes also told Stabroek News yesterday that they were visited by two constables on Friday and a statement was also sought from them.
Meanwhile, Arokium is questioning the government’s move to turn to Caricom for forensics help when his lawyers have been able to get UK experts to agree to come to Guyana. According to the man the Caricom countries “themselves need help, you go turn to them?”
The men’s relatives have secured the assistance of Forensic Science Service (FSS), a UK government owned company and through the law firm Hughes, Fields and Stoby, have written to Greene informing him of their desire to have the experts observe the conduct of any forensic examination
On Friday evening a statement from the Ministry of Home Affairs had said that it had received an official response from the US that “due to logistical and resource limitations” it was unable to fulfil the Guyana Govern-ment’s request for help with the murder investigations.
“Consequently, the Ministry of Home Affairs has already activated contingency arrangements at the bilateral level within Caricom together with other regional and international bodies for a forensic/pathology team to visit Guyana. It is expected that these contingency arrangements will bear fruit shortly,” the statement had said.
The statement had also said that the ministry appreciated the efforts of other stakeholders to expedite the arrival of an expert scientific team here, which appeared to be in reference to the efforts made by the Alliance For Change and the law firm, hired by the relatives of the dead men.
“The Ministry of Home Affairs wishes to reassure that the administration shares the concern of others in an equally emphatic manner and is exerting every effort to fulfil its responsibilities speedily in this matter as it has always done in the past”, the statement added.
In the wake of the third massacre in six months in June at Lindo Creek, pressure has been piled on the government to establish an independent probe particularly since the joint services have been accused of involvement in the killings. (Oluatoyin Alleyne/Stabroek News)
Supply woman found dead under bed
Husband turns himself into police at Berbice
Fiona Fraser-McPherson
The lifeless body of a 24-year-old Supply, East Bank Demerara woman was yesterday morning discovered under a bed in her home with her hands tied and a vest around her neck. Her husband later turned up at a police station in Berbice, where he confessed to killing her.
Dead is Fiona Fraser-McPherson of Lot 12 Supply. A press release from the police yesterday said they were investigating the suspected murder of McPherson “whose body was found at about 08:00 hours today under a bed in her home with her hands tied behind her back and a vest tied around her neck”.The release added that she was reportedly last seen alive around noon on Sunday. It further stated that the dead woman’s husband, who is the suspect in the murder, reported to the police at Reliance Police Station, Berbice, around 12:15 pm yesterday. He is in police custody assisting with investigations.
It was reported to this newspaper that the couple, who had been married for four years, quarrelled frequently as the woman’s husband had repeatedly accused her of cheating on him. He had threatened to kill her on several occasions, Stabroek News was told. Fraser-McPherson was scheduled to travel to Barbados where she had managed to secure a job, a move that apparently did not please him.
According to Fraser-McPherson’s uncle, Monty Fraser, who would stay at the home periodically, he and his reputed wife were at the house on Sunday morning, but they had left his niece and her husband at home and gone out some time between 11:30 am and noon. He said when he returned around 2 pm, the padlock was on the door, indicating that the two were not at home and he went inside and took a nap.
The man said he went out around 6.30 pm and returned later that night, but his niece had still not returned home and she was still not there the following morning when he awoke. According to Fraser, while his niece would go out she never slept out of her home and he found her continued absence a bit strange. He said he started to complain about the condition the house was in and by this time his reputed wife, Wendy had ventured into the kitchen area.
She was on her way back to the front of the house, he said, when she went and told him that she had just seen what looked like a foot under the bed in his niece’s bedroom, through a crack in the door. According to Fraser, they called out several times for her but got response and began to fear the worse.
They then made contact with several relatives and gathered enough courage to go into the bedroom. It was then that they found Fraser McPherson dead under the bed; her hands and chest were “black and blue,” Fraser said. He added that parts of her were covered with sheets. Shock still evident in his voice the man said, “I can’t believe that I sleep whole night in this house with me niece dead.”
Another uncle, David Fraser, told this newspaper that the couple had lived at Berbice for some time after they were married before moving to Supply. He too was shocked at his niece’s tragic death and added that at no time did the woman’s husband inform anybody that he was travelling to Berbice.
Going to Barbados
According to David Fraser, his niece was scheduled to travel to Barbados on Friday to work. He said her husband was not at all happy with that. “All she suitcase din dun pack. She ticket dun buy and she passport in order. Everything was set for she to travel,” he said adding that his niece’s husband had told her that a man had sent the ticket for her. “She was a nice and quiet girl man. She didn’t like to go and party… He just use to like bully she and so on,” David said. According him, the husband was so jealous, that everywhere his niece went he would follow.
After committing the act, the man fled to his home community of Adelphi, Canje where he told relatives what he had done. Information reaching Stabroek News is that he arrived there some time yesterday morning. The man reportedly said that he had killed his wife because he knew that she was unfaithful to him and that he committed the act in a fit of rage. This newspaper understands too that the relatives advised him to go to the police station and give himself up. (Zoisa Fraser/Stabroek News)
Enmore murder suspect dies
Narsingh Suresh
The reputed husband of Shaneeza Khan, who was found dead, her throat slit at her Enmore, East Coast Demerara home in April, died early yesterday morning at the George-town Public Hospital (GPH).
Narsingh Suresh called ‘Timal’ or ‘Yam Head’ of Enmore, East Coast Demerara was arrested by the police on Sunday for the murder Khan but at the time he was frothing at the mouth and was suspected to have ingested poison and he was rushed to GPH for treatment.Since the April 20 incident, Suresh had disappeared and police had issued a bulletin for him, for questioning in relation to the matter. Subsequently, in a press release on Sunday, the police said the man was in a hammock under a house at Newtown, Enmore when he was arrested.
He died at the GPH early yesterday morning and a post-mortem examination is to be conducted on the body shortly. Khan was discovered dead on the morning of April 20 at the home she once shared with Suresh her reputed husband of four years. A post-mortem examination had revealed that Khan died as a result of her throat being slit. She was also stabbed under the breast. (Stabroek News)
July 7, 2008
Police arrest ‘Yam Head’Police acting on information, at about 13:10h. yesterday, arrested Narsingh Suresh called ‘Timal’ or ‘Yam Head’ of Grassfield, Enmore, ECD, for whom a wanted bulletin had been issued. According to a release, Suresh, whom the Police found in a hammock under a house at Newtown, Enmore, was frothing at the mouth.
The wanted man is suspected to have ingested poison and was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he has been admitted and is under guard. Suresh was wanted by the police for questioning in relation to the death of Shaneeza Khan who was found with her throat slit in a house at Grassfield, Enmore on April 20, 2008.
In another matter which occurred at Oronoque Road Port Kaituma at about 18:00h on Saturday, the Police are probing the circumstances under which Eon Culpepper met his death. Investigations so far have revealed that Culpepper was in the tray of a motor lorry that was transporting lumber, when he is alleged to have fallen off the vehicle.
He received injuries about his body and was taken to the Port Kaituma Hospital where he succumbed while receiving medical treatment. The driver of the vehicle is in police custody, assisting with investigations.
Meanwhile, following a reported shooting incident, Keino Liverpool, 32, of Amelia’s Ward, Linden, was admitted to the Georgetown Public Hospital nursing a gunshot wound and injures to his right elbow and left hip. Police investigations revealed at about 03:30h on Saturday, Liverpool had an altercation with an armed security guard at Omai Gold Mines concession, when he was shot. (Guyana Cronicle/photo: Stabroek News)
Police looking into death of chainsaw operator
The Police are investigating the death of a chainsaw operator known as ‘Douglah’, which occurred about 09:00h on July 4, 2008, at Aranka Backdam, Cuyuni. Investigations revealed that ‘Douglah’ was cutting a tree when it moved backward and struck him. He was taken to the Bartica Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The body is presently at the hospital mortuary.
And a man, identified as a police constable, is under close arrest after he was found with a .38 revolver and six matching rounds in his possession, for which he could give no proper account. A release said at about 18:15h on Saturday, the police acting on information, went to a nightspot at Better Hope and conducted a search on a man.
Public spirited persons had called the police after the man, who it was suspected was in possession of the firearm, was under the influence of alcohol and behaving disorderly. Investigations are continuing. (Guyana Cronicle)
July 6, 2008
Two killed in motorcycle crash
Dexter Henry
A 27-year-old motorcyclist who recently celebrated the birth of his first child collided with a mentally ill woman on Friday night at Uitvlugt, West Bank Demerara (WBD) killing himself and the woman.
Dead are Police Constable Dexter Henry of Lot 42, De Kinderen Housing Scheme, WBD, who was reportedly rushing home after running an errand, and Joann Leitch called `Tolly’ of Lot 15 Uitvlugt. Leitch was said to be in her mid-forties.
Leitch, who sustained injuries to her forehead and leg, was pronounced dead on arrival at the West Demerara Regional Hospital, while Henry succumbed to massive head injuries at the Georgetown Hospital, early yesterday morning.Though the circumstances surrounding the accident, which occurred around 7 pm, are still a bit unclear, this newspaper understands that from all appearances, Leitch walked into the path of the motorcycle and Henry tried to avoid hitting her but failed.
Left alone: Dexter Henry’s reputed wife Odessa Accra and son Daunte.
Persons living nearby heard the collision and when they rushed out, the policeman, who is based at the Brickdam Police Station, was lying on the parapet in an unconscious state while the woman was lying on her belly on the roadway.
One resident said the woman, who would usually walk “up and down the road”, attempted to raise her head several times but didn’t have the strength to do so. The resident said one of her legs looked as though “ya wringing clothes”. Some of Henry’s relatives told Stabroek News that they had received information that a minibus played a part in the accident and was being repaired at a workshop.
However, persons living close to the scene could not confirm this and said all they knew was that the accident involved “a motorcycle and a mad woman”. There were visible bloodstains on the section of the roadway where the accident occurred but no signs of shattered glass or any material to suggest that another vehicle had been involved in the mishap. Henry’s relatives were in disbelief yesterday as they recounted how jovial and friendly he was.
Excited over the newborn
Twenty-seven days ago, Henry’s reputed wife, Odessa Accra, gave birth to Daunte, their first child. Henry was very excited and fussy over his newborn son, relatives said adding that Daunte was his favourite topic of conversation and whenever he would call Accra, he would first enquire about his son. He had even taken leave to enjoy some time with the newborn. On the night of the accident, he had just left Uitvlugt and was heading home to see his son. He never made it.
At the couple’s home yesterday, with her eyes red and puffy from crying, Accra told this newspaper that one of his cousins called her and informed of the accident. According to her, he left on his motorcycle around 9:30 on Friday morning to look after some business in Georgetown. “When he call he ask how is the boy and said that he coming home now,” she recalled. This would have been shortly before the accident.
She said that following the birth of his son, Henry took leave from work and was scheduled to resume his duties next month. He had been a policeman for some two years, she said. She described him as a loving and caring person. At his brother, Dellon’s home, several houses away, relatives were gathered discussing the tragedy.
Dellon told this newspaper that he got a telephone call about the accident and called persons he knew living in the area but wasn’t getting any confirmation. He then called his brother’s cellular phone and a relative answered informing him that they were taking him to the WDRH. He said that Henry was then taken to the Georgetown Hospital.
According to Dellon, when he saw him, his face and head were swollen and he was unconscious. He added that at the time of the accident, Henry was wearing a German-made helmet. Henry, who was the second of four children, also leaves to mourn his parents Phillip and Jacqueline and many other relatives and friends.
Mental problems
Leitch’s daughter, Natasha, told Stabroek News that her mother has been mentally ill for years now and would always throw away her medication and documents. According to the young woman, her mother would wander on the roadway and though she had mental problems she would sometimes operate sensibly.
Natasha said that on Friday night she was at the WDRH where she is employed as a security guard, when she got word that her mother had been killed in an accident. She said she was in disbelief, but when she checked in the treatment room, her fears were confirmed.
She said she only managed to see her mother’s feet which were badly bruised. Natasha said that since the accident she has been unable to eat and sleep. Leitch leaves behind two children, her relative Elaine and others. (Stabroek News)
July 5, 2008
Roger Khan drug trial
US presses for evidence of uncharged crimes to be admitted
Says co-operating witness will testify.....
.....that hit placed on Devendra Persaud
Roger Khan
Drug accused Roger Khan and another Guyanese man, who is wanted by the US and is now on the run, threatened family members of Devendra Persaud and Khan’s phantom group put a hit on Persaud when they discovered that he had a ledger on the drug business with their names in it, US prosecutors say.
According to the court documents filed by the US government it will provide evidence that Khan, his bodyguards and the man, who was also Persaud’s cocaine trafficking partner, had gone to Persaud’s wife boutique and pointed a gun at her while she held her young child in her arms. At the time Persaud had been charged with bulk cash smuggling and conspiring to import cocaine into the United States, and they had demanded to know his case number.
Last month, the US government had accused Khan of murdering Persaud and boxing coach Donald Allison and the court had requested that the government outline in more detail its proof of the uncharged activities as it relates to the Persaud and Allison murders. The government was given until June 24, to submit a supplement to its in limine motion to obtain a pre-trial ruling to admit certain evidence of uncharged activity. That supplement has since been filed and awaits the court’s ruling.Khan, through his lawyers, has since denied that he was involved in the murders. Among other things, Khan’s lawyers had said that national cyclist Tyrone Hamilton, who was with Persaud at the time of his death, knew who killed Persaud and had told them so.
Devendra Persaud
According to information provided in a court document seen by this newspaper, Persaud relocated to the United States and settled in Queens, New York. Persaud received cocaine from the Khan organization, distributed it to others, and then sent money back to the organization in Guyana.
The government said it would establish at trial that one nickname for the defendant was ‘Shortman’. “Multiple cooperating witnesses will testify that Khan was called ‘Shortman’. Further, the cooperating witnesses who know Persaud will testify that Persaud called the defendant ‘Shortman’ and ‘Roger’,” the court document said.
According to the document, Persaud’s cocaine trafficking partner [name mentioned], who is now on the run, also went by the nicknames ‘Ledge’ and ‘Kevin’. That person was sometimes in the New York City area, and sometimes in Guyana during the cocaine conspiracy with Persaud.
Persaud was arrested in June 2003 at John F. Kennedy airport, and was charged with bulk cash smuggling and conspiring to import cocaine into the United States. “Thereafter, Persaud was released on bond. He ultimately cooperated with US law enforcement, including participating in numerous proffers and agreeing to have his cellular telephone calls recorded, among other things,” the document said adding that after his arrest Persaud’s partner returned to Guyana and remained here.
On December 22, 2003, Persaud’s wife, who resided here and operated a boutique, called him in Queens. “In a call to Persaud’s telephone that was being consensually recorded by the government, Persaud’s wife informed him that ‘Shorty’, his bodyguards, and ‘Ledge’ had come into her store and threatened and pointed a gun at her while she held their child. She informed Persaud that they demanded to know his case number.”
It was two days after this call that Persaud jumped bail and returned to Guyana and after he fled, agents with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) searched his former residence and discovered, among other things, drug ledgers used by him.
“In the ledger, ‘Shortman’ is reference(d) with a telephone number. Many other co-conspirators are listed in the ledgers. Individuals in the cocaine industry in Guyana, including Khan, suspected that Persaud was cooperating with US law enforcement,” the document said.
Further, the document said, Khan and his closest associate were angry because they had learned that their names were contained in Persaud’s ledger. Additionally, Persaud owed Khan a drug debt. Khan’s organisation seized a BMW that Persaud had owned in the United States, and had shipped to Guyana, as payment toward the debt.
“Khan’s co-conspirators arrived at Persaud’s store in Guyana, and took his car from him. Eventually, Khan and his ‘Phantom Squad’ put a ‘hit’ on Persaud. In October 2004, Khan was informed by a member of his organisation that Persaud was at the Palm Court restaurant in Guyana. In response, Khan stated, in sum and substance, that Persaud should be killed that night. Shortly thereafter, Persaud was shot to death at the Palm Court restaurant. “
In relation to Allison, the government said its proof that Khan ordered the murder of the man will include the testimony from a witness that Allison and others imported cocaine into the United States that was obtained from the Khan organisation.
Also that the cocaine was seized and that one of Khan’s co-conspirators demanded proof that the cocaine was seized, to prove that Allison and others had not stolen it. The prosecution also promised to produce testimony that “Allison refused to work in Khan’s organization, and once publicly insulted Khan.” Further, testimony that Khan’s organisation shot Allison and testimony that Khan took credit for killing Allison. (Stabroek News)
July 4, 2008
AFC ups forensics pressure
”Gov’t should pay for UK team to examine Lindo Creek site”
First Row (From Left to Right): Bonny Harry, Cecil Arokium, Clifton Wong & Compton Speirs. Second Row (From Left to Right): Dax Arokium, Horace Drakes, Lancelot Lee & Nigel Torres
The Alliance For Change (AFC) is urging the administration to finance the UK-based forensic team identified by relatives of the eight miners slain at Lindo Creek.
Since the meeting between President Bharrat Jagdeo and AFC Leader Raphael Trotman last week, the party said, the administration had failed to secure the services of a US forensic team, and “a credible one with impressive credentials has since been located so the administration must now act”.
Declaring its full support for an independent investigation to be conducted by Forensic Science Service (FSS) of the UK, the AFC said yesterday at a press briefing, that President Jagdeo had expressed exasperation at the fact that there has been no response to the request for a US forensic team and that he had asked for the AFC’s assistance in locating such expertise.
On another front, a letter was dispatched to Commissioner of Police (ag) Henry Greene from the law firm Hughes, Fields and Stoby, whose services have been retained by relatives of the eight miners, informing him of the availability of the UK team. Included in the request was permission for the experts to conduct an independent review and analysis of any evidence retrieved from the crime scene or associated with it.
Attorney Nigel Hughes yesterday followed up the matter with Commissioner Greene urging in a letter that his firm’s invitation to retain FSS be accepted. “This would address our clients’ fears about the daily degradation of the crime scene and the integrity and reliability of any investigation conducted after the expiration of three weeks from the date of the incident”, Hughes said in his letter yesterday.
Trotman told reporters yesterday that the party has since made contact with the owner of the mining camp, Leonard Akorium and his attorneys and has been privy to correspondence, which discloses that a forensic investigative team based in the UK is available and ready to travel to Guyana at a moment’s notice.
“This is a premier forensic team based in the UK and utilized by the security forces there whose credibility cannot be disputed. We support this effort and call on the government to prove its sincerity and bona fides by financing the arrival and work of this British team,” Trotman said, reading from a prepared statement.
He said that the party would be contacting Jagdeo shortly to advise him that a team has been identified and should be funded by the government. Trotman noted further that the relatives of the eight victims deserve closure and the right to hold funerals while the nation was entitled to know the truth.
Deliberate
According to Trotman, the country cannot wait any longer for a team to come in while the administration keeps mum. This, he said, will in fact force people to conclude that there is a deliberate attempt to cover up what happened at the mining camp so that the perpetrators are never known. He noted that waiting fuelled the speculation and the government could not use Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee to tell people not to speculate when it was keeping quiet.
“Already there has been a cover-up of the torture allegations levelled earlier in the year against the GDF and we just will not allow another cover up of what may very well turn out to be a security operation gone horrifically wrong,” the statement said.
Asked about the time lapse since the bodies were discovered and the presence of any useful clues for forensic evaluation, Trotman said, the sanctity of the camp has been lost but noted that a forensic expert should have the opportunity to pronounce on this. He said that only an expert would be able to determine whether there were any deliberate attempts at any cover-up and end whatever speculation surrounds the killings. Trotman added further that some basic clues might still be there which a forensic team could work with.
Acknowledging that the AFC had failed to elicit a commitment from President Jagdeo at the meeting last week for a Commission of Inquiry into the murders, the party cited several circumstances which demanded such a probe. These included: the location of the camp relative to the reported hideout of the `Fineman’ Rawlins, conflicting reports as to whether the passengers of a hijacked bus knew of the Lindo Creek incident and from whom and the burning of the bodies.
Camp owner Arokium says he is convinced that the killings were carried out by the security forces. His son and brother were murdered in the attack. Those who were killed at the site were Dax Arokium, Cedric Arokium, Compton Speirs, Horace Drakes, Clifton Wong, Lancelot Lee, Bonny Harry and Nigel Torres.
The AFC leader also referred to what he said appeared to be strained relations between the US and the local administration noting that the President needed to shore up his government’s relationship with Washington when he returns from Antigua. Trotman said the relationship might be strained for a number of factors including the apparent reluctance to cooperate with the US on extradition requests in addition to providing certain information.
He added that for one government “to refuse or to act or to display little alacrity whilst processing the request raises serious questions as to the level of the friendship indeed and suggests that is it not as amiable as is being made out.”
Further, it could not escape notice that even prior to and after disclosing evidence in the Roger Khan trial the US government has failed or refused to share such information with the administration even after an official request was made, he said. The AFC has five seats in Parliament. (Stabroek News)
July 2, 2008
Bandit dies in ‘shoot-out’ with police ..... …minutes after robbery
Police place the dead man (left) into the vehicle while the other suspect is flat in the grass (centre).
Police yesterday cornered and shot dead a gunman on Brickdam, minutes after he had robbed a city businessman with the aid of an accomplice.
It appears that the two had no clear plan after executing the robbery in John Street. They were apparently contemplating their next move when a police mobile patrol got word of the brazen midday attack and moved in quickly.
A police rank retrieves a spent shell from the scene shortly after the shooting yesterday.
Since they were on a bicycle, the two did not get far. Police caught up with them at the corner of Brickdam and Chalmers Place, Stabroek where one of them was shot dead.
Up to press time last night, the dead gunman was unidentified. However, a few persons who saw him at the Georgetown Public Hospital called him `Black boy’. He was shot twice; once to the lower back and once in his right leg, and was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.
Police said the man was shot dead during an armed confrontation after he opened fire on the patrol that was in hot pursuit. However, persons who said they were eyewitnesses rejected this version.
In a press release issued last evening, police said an unlicensed 9 mm Beretta pistol along with three live rounds and a spent shell were recovered. They said the two men had entered the Royal Refrigeration building at John Street, Werk-en-Rust, Georgetown, and held the owner George Ramsarran at gunpoint. The men tied him up with duct tape and took away some $95,000, a wristwatch and a gold band.
Police patrols responded quickly to the report of the robbery and tracked the duo down within minutes, based on the information that they were on a bicycle heading east along Brickdam. According to the police, the ranks of one of the patrols spotted the suspects and on seeing the police approaching, one of the two men pulled out a firearm and discharged a round at the police who returned fire hitting him.
The sun shades and handkerchief believed to belong to one of the robbery suspects at the scene.
The other suspect, who, eyewitnesses said, surrendered after realizing there was no way out, is in custody. Police said he has been identified by the robbery victim as one of the two men who had robbed him of $94,600 along with a wristwatch. The cash and the watch were recovered.
Persons at the scene bemoaned the shooting yesterday, calling it another example of excessive use of force by the police. Though the gunman was armed, they said, he did not engage the police. When cornered, the persons said, he was shot first in the leg and then in the lower back.
“Why shoot and kill a man when he is already down?” a man who is said to have seen the whole incident asked. This sentiment was echoed by others at the scene.
Blood was visible in the grass where the man had been shot yesterday, and a few feet away sunshades and a handkerchief, which were reportedly dropped by the other suspect, lay in the grass.
Police at the scene just after the shooting.
Reports are that the men had nowhere to run when they reached Brickdam, because police were approaching from every direction. The coordinated police response had them trapped at the junction of Chalmers Place.
Stabroek News spoke with a person who said he was an eyewitness, who was among several who challenged the police’s version of what happened. He said that just after 1 pm two men were spotted dashing down Chalmers Place with a police vehicle in hot pursuit. One of the men, later identified as the dead man’s accomplice, was steaming ahead and he made a left turn into Brickdam while the now dead man kept running north along Chalmers Place.
According to the eyewitness, the man who was shot had no time to pull a gun and open fire at the police because he was busy running, and trying to figure out where to go. “He ain’t had a clue what to do and where to go because the police was on him heavy and I saw when he was shot in the leg. That bullet tear away that foot and left him there on the ground hollering,” the eyewitness recounted.He was then shot again and put into a vehicle along with the other suspect who had surrendered at that time and taken away.
Later, when the police returned to the scene to scour the area for spent shells, a few persons chided one officer in particular who they said fired the fatal shot. The officer ignored the verbal assault and went about his business. ((Stabroek News/Jules Gibson photo)
Police shoot robber dead
One of two gunmen who robbed the Royal Refrigeration office on John Street, Werk-en-Rust, Georgetown, was shot and killed by the police during a confrontation on Brickdam yesterday. The other suspect is in police custody.
Police reported that about 13:30 h, on Brickdam, ranks of a mobile police patrol caught up with two robbery suspects. An armed confrontation ensued and one was killed.
Earlier, two men had entered the Royal Refrigeration building and held owner George Ramsarran at gunpoint, Police said.
The bandits tied him up with duct tape and took away $94,600 in cash, a wrist-watch and a gold band, and escaped on a bicycle. A police patrol responded quickly to a report of the robbery and information that the bandits were on a bicycle heading east along Brickdam. The patrol hurried in the direction indicated, and on seeing the police approaching, one of the robbers pulled out a firearm and discharged a round at them. The police returned fire and hit the bandit.
The injured bandit was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. A 9mm. Beretta pistol, ammunition and a spent shell were recovered by the police. Up to press time, the dead bandit was unidentified. The other suspect was arrested and is in police custody. He was identified by the robbery victim as one of the two men who had robbed him.
The victim also recovered the cash and wrist watch which the robbers had taken from him. Later, a press release from the hospital said an unidentified male of mixed race was brought to the Accident and Emergency Unit by Police around 13:15 hrs yesterday, with two gunshot wounds, and he was pronounced dead on arrival. (Guyana Cronicle) $2M reward for information on ‘Skinny’ recapture
Jermaine ‘Skinny’ Charles
The high profile fugitive has been charged with several murders, including that of late Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Satyadeow Sawh, his siblings and security guard, as well as five Kaieteur News pressmen.
A Police release said anyone with information that may lead to the arrest of Charles should telephone numbers 225-6411, 226-6978, 225-8196, 226-1326, 225-2227, 225-3650, 225-7625 and 911 or contact the nearest station. All information will be treated with strict confidence, the release stated.
Still more questions than answers on Lindo Creek killings
Rohee urges end to speculation
Clement Rohee
`The Ministry of Home Affairs is further concerned about another area of speculation that has recently opened up in the media. This has to do with the availability of a forensic pathology team from the United States of America and why are they not here in Guyana as yet. Here is a good example of the media intruding in a highly sensitive matter and seeking to drive the process by speculative means’
Though he called for an end to speculative media reports on the Lindo Creek killings, Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee left many questions unanswered yesterday at a press conference, which dealt mostly with the incident that has spurred enormous interest here and abroad.Instead the minister launched a verbal attack on the Stabroek News over three successive editorials in the past week and its ‘What the people say’ feature, published on Monday last. They all dealt with the Lindo Creek incident.
Reading from a prepared statement, Rohee said, “In an effort to appear balanced, the Stabroek News continues to (conjure) up much speculation pitching the Joint Services against public opinion and vice versa over the circumstances surrounding the deaths of the eight miners at Lindo Creek.” He said that in three recent editorials “it [Stabroek News] has kept up this highly speculative humdrum”.
July 01, 2008
Skinny reportedly seen in unnamed rural area
Jermaine Charles
The police have received reports of the sighting of escaped high-profile prisoner Jermaine “Skinny” Charles at undisclosed rural location and are responding to leads, a high-ranking police officer revealed yesterday.
Charles escaped from the Sparendaam lock-ups after making a court appearance there on Wednesday last. He managed to sneak under loosened boards in the lock-ups and made his way out of the police station unnoticed.The police only realized he was missing some three hours after. A senior police officer told this newspaper yesterday that some inside work was being done in the community, which he preferred not to name. However, he said nothing substantial has come up.
Meanwhile, the officer noted that the three teens arrested in Agricola at the weekend reportedly for harbouring Charles, had been released. The officer said the police were equipped with reliable information prior to the men’s arrest, however such information could not be transferred into reliable enough evidence to press charges against the youths.
The officer said that the youths have denied seeing Charles. At a press conference following the escape, Commissioner of Police (ag) Henry Greene had said that police were convinced that it was well planned and while there was no evidence at the time of collusion, the officers found guilty of negligence will be interdicted from duty.
Greene also admitted that there was no evidence that the mandatory checks were made on the prisoners during the period that they were returned to the lock-ups after making their court appearance.
Thirty-three prisoners, including Charles and David Leander called `Biscuit’, were escorted from the George-town prisons to the Sparen-daam police station with the relevant escort as dictated by the standing orders. Charles was at the Sparendaam court to answer a charge in relation to the murder of the late government minister Satyadeow Sawh, his siblings and his security guard. He is also facing other charges of murder including the Kaieteur News pressmen.
Around 11.30 am, Leander and Charles were taken out for court where they spent only about ten minutes and then replaced in the lock-ups as the police awaited the magistrate’s signature of the warrants before they departed for the Georgetown Prison.
The prisoners were left unsupervised and no one visited the lock-ups. During this time, the two wooden boards were lifted and Charles used a seven inch by two and half inch opening to escape, the police said. It was when the police received the warrants around 3.30 pm and were ready to move the prisoners that they discovered that Charles had escaped.
Information later revealed that Charles, upon entering the courtyard had signalled to the occupants of two dark coloured cars, which were parked in proximity to the court. The drivers had then flashed their vehicle lights. The police believe that Charles may have left in one of the cars, Greene had reported.
Meanwhile the mother of the fugitive has since denied any knowledge of whereabouts and said she was at work when her son made his court appearance. After work, the woman said, she went to meet her daughter and another son at Camp Street prison where they awaited Skinny’s return from Sparendaam to send in food for him.
After waiting for some time, she said, she was informed that her son had escaped. The woman also denied moving out from her home and said she was simply not at home at the time the Joint Services visited. She had said that she go to the police station yesterday as she had heard that she was wanted for questioning.
This newspaper could not confirm whether the woman had done so up to press time last night. (Stabroek News)
