February 25, 2010
Brazilian shot dead at Butterfly Backdam
A Brazilian man was shot in his face on Monday at Butterfly Backdam in the northwest by a fellow countryman after an argument over money escalated.
Dead is Leandro Torres De Lima, 24. His body was flown to the city yesterday and is at the Lyken’s Funeral Home. According to reports reaching Stabroek News, around 9 am the two had an argument over money, when the suspect who is still on the run, pulled out a handgun and discharged a round.
De Lima who was hit in the face died shortly after and before he could get any medical attention. A resident of Port Kaituma said that the shooter has been living in the area for at least three years now and in addition to mining he owned a small shop in Butterfly Backdam.
He last saw the man, sometime back when he came out to the Landing. The shooter was described as a friendly man who wears a “set” of gold chains. A team of police ranks has been dispatched to the area to conduct investigations. (Stabroek News)
February 19, 2010
Guyanese couple dead in suspected murder/suicide – T&T cops
Trinidad police suspect a suicide pact in the death of a couple whose bodies were discovered in an apartment in Longdenville, Chaguanas, yesterday. Dead are Maria Ward, 22, and Christopher Haynes, 24, The Trinidad Express reported today. Both are nationals of Guyana and Trinidad police are unsure if they were in the Twin-Island Republic legally.
Their bodies were found by police called in by the landlord of a property at Light Pole 100, Main Road, Longdenville. Officers said they had to break open the door and found both dressed only in undergarments. There were no visible marks of violence.
It is suspected both agreed to drink a poisonous substance, or one forced the other to do it before committing suicide. Ward worked at a food outlet in St Helena, neighbours said. Haynes reportedly went to Trinidad about two weeks ago, The Express reported.
In April last year, the Haslington woman who was stabbed and slashed by Haynes was told that she would have to undergo another operation as doctors needed to determine whether she had sustained any nerve damage.
The 21-year-old Ward of North Haslington, East Coast Demerara (ECD) told Stabroek News on April 21 last year that she was relieved that her attacker, Haynes also called ‘Clint’ and ‘Mark Anthony, was detained. But she said the police had not yet visited her to take a formal statement and expressed frustration.
The woman was hospitalised after being brutally stabbed and slashed days before, after Haynes accused her of unfaithfulness. Ward suffered a slash to her throat and three stab wounds to her body, including one to her left temple. The young woman’s shocked relatives had said that they received a call early on the morning informing them that Ward had been attacked by the man, who practically lived at her home.
Relatives had told this newspaper that Haynes and Ward were on their way to Haynes’s home around 2 am on the day, when he attacked her. After slashing her throat and stabbing her, he removed her bloodied clothing dressed her in some of his and took her to the hospital in a taxi.
“She said while in the car, he tell she not to tell people at the hospital is he do it but tell them how she get attack and she call he and he come and assist,” the relative said.
However, Ward told the police at the hospital what had really happened and Haynes was arrested. Relatives said Ward told them that Haynes had hit her before and that she had complained several times to his mother. Haynes, a mason by profession, had been expected at that time to leave the country to take up a job on a ship. (Stabroek News)
February 6, 2010
Two Camp St. prisoners die after brawl
Dyal Singh
Two prisoners died early yesterday morning after a fight broke out in the capital offence dormitory of the Georgetown Prisons, leaving relatives of the men in shock and questioning how prison authorities allowed the situation to turn deadly.
Dead are double-murder accused Solomon Blackman and Essequibo resident Dyal Singh, who arrived at the Georgetown Hospital mortally wounded. Blackman attacked Singh and was afterward set upon by other prisoners. The two men were pronounced dead on arrival at around 3:45 am.
Solomon Blackman
Blackman, 40, an ex policeman, went berserk at the Brickdam Police Station on March 1, 2004, and allegedly killed Deputy Superintendent Richard Griffith and Lance Corporal Ramnarine Latchana while wounding two more; Singh, 49, was an Essequibo resident was charged with murdering speedboat operator Stanley Bovell, whom he is accused of fatally stabbing on October 16, 2007 at Supenaam after a row over a borrowed knife.
Last June, Singh was committed to stand trial in the High Court by Magistrate Faith McGusty at the Suddie Magistrates’ Court and it was scheduled to begin next month. Meanwhile Blackman, of Mocha Arcadia, was deemed to be of unsound mind and in light of yesterday’s incident questions were raised as to why he wasn’t kept in the area designated for such prisoners.
In a statement last evening, the Home Affairs Ministry explained that due to persistent medical treatment, Blackman showed some improvement. As a result, he was removed from the Social Division and allowed to live and mix with the general population. The Ministry described the incident as “most unfortunate” and all assured that the security at the prison was stable.
Preliminary reports, according to the statement, revealed that at approximately 2:10 am, the officers on-duty responded to unusual sounds emanating from the capital dormitory. It sounded as if some one was tampering with the lock. The dormitory houses remanded prisoners.
After investigating, officers in the prison yard were alerted by a loud noise in the same division, where a prisoner was shouting that Blackman had assaulted another inmate-Singh. On returning to the dormitory, the ranks observed Blackman “striking” Singh, who was lying on a mattress. The other prisoners became infuriated and began to attack Blackman severely beating him. The sirens were sounded and police, fire department and senior prison officers were informed.
According to the statement, they responded immediately and went to the division, where the two injured prisoners were taken out at approximately 2:40am and taken to the Georgetown Hospital, where they were pronounced dead by the doctor on duty an hour later. “The Ministry of Home Affairs regrets the occurrence of this incident and expresses its deepest sympathy to the family and relatives of the two prisoners,” the statement added.
The police, meanwhile, reported the start of investigations, while saying Blackman attacked Singh with a piece of wood and lashed him about the body. As a consequence, a number of other prisoners attacked Blackman, during which he received injuries about his body. The release did not say what was used to inflict the injuries.
Yesterday, there were many unanswered questions and concerns and despite numerous efforts by this newspaper, Director of Prisons Dale Erskine could not be reached. Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee when contacted yesterday afternoon said that he was still receiving information and could not comment at the time.
Though neither the police nor the Home Affairs Ministry made mention of at least one sharp implement being used in the incident, sources close to the prisons and the hospital said that Singh had been stabbed multiple times about the body. Two of the man’s relatives, who saw the body, also reported seeing stab wounds. From all reports, Blackman was the victim of a severe beating with pieces of wood.
How the inmates came in possession of wood and, in the case of Blackman what is believed to be a sharp implement, is unclear. The issue has been a problem for prison officials over the years and they have been unable to remedy it. It has also not been explained what delayed the responding officers from entering the dorm, after witnessing Blackman being beaten or what may have sparked the incident.
Singh’s wife, Shelochanie, was close to tears while speaking with Stabroek News. The woman recalled that at around 2:40 am she received a call from a prisoner informing her that her husband had been killed. The woman said that the message left her in shock and she almost immediately started making plans to travel to the city.
According to her, she saw the body at the Georgetown Hospital mortuary and it was badly swollen and covered in blood. The woman said that given the condition of the body, she did not check to see if there were any wounds. However, the man’s brother told the media outside the hospital that “he get lash up and he body get bore up” before questioning where the prison wardens were at the time of the incident.
“How this coulda happen? Like he get beat with wood. Where they get that from?” the visibly upset man said. Yesterday Shelochanie was adamant that she will get no justice for the death of her husband but nevertheless pleaded for some sort of action to be taken against the prison officers who were on-duty at the time.
The woman said that a prison official made contact with her home in Supernaam hours after the incident but she had already travelled to Georgetown. She said that she spoke with the officer in charge at the Georgetown Prisons and he told her that her husband was asleep when an inmate came and dealt him some lashes. The officer said too that other prisoners who were there at the time retaliated by beating the man.
The woman expressed concern that prison officers failed to rescue her husband while he was being attacked and Singh’s brother said that there appears to be more to the story than they are being told. According to Shelochanie, Singh was a father figure to many inmates and when she saw him on Monday, he showed off some of his friends to her.
Meanwhile Maurice Bovell, the brother of Stanley Bovell, the man Singh was accused of murdering, when contacted in Supernaam yesterday said that he was upset since the matter was almost completed. “We wanted him to go to court and let there be a fair trail…. Now we will have to leave everything to God,” Bovell said, adding that Singh was his neighbour and before the incident there was never a confrontation.
Meanwhile, for Blackman, it was an eviction from his Benn Street, Wortmanville home that triggering his rampage on the Brickdam Police Station on March 1, 2004. The man, after getting wind of his eviction, went to the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court and, after not receiving any satisfaction, he went to the station.
While at the station, Blackman suddenly attacked Constable Kesier Cosbert who was the compound sentry and lashed him in the head with a bottle. Cosbert fell and Blackman snatched his firearm from his holster and shot him in his right leg. He subsequently shot and killed Assistant Superintendent Richard Griffith and Lance Corporal Ramnarine Latchana. Corporal Clifton Nelson was also injured in the attack.
Blackman was eventually confronted by a policeman who shot him in the leg. Following the shooting, Blackman’s father, Colin, explained that his son had a history of violence and this became worse when he entered the force. Blackman was a former member of the Tactical Services Unit (TSU).
Blackman broke his father’s hand in 1996 after he was put out of their house in Mocha. The man, who has since passed away, also denied that his son was mentally ill, saying that in late 1996 he had taken him to a psychiatrist for an examination and he was declared mentally fit and normal.
Yesterday, Blackman’s brother, Samuel, when contacted was unaware that his brother was dead and was in disbelief when told by this newspaper. The man was too distraught to speak and he was very unhappy that no one from the prison service informed him of the incident. (Stabroek News)
Two Remanded murder accused murdered in prison
Dead: Ex-cop Solomon Blackman
Solomon Blackman and Dyal Singh, who were both on remand awaiting trial for murder, were themselves murdered at the Camp Street, Georgetown Prison yesterday morning.
They were pronounced dead on arrival at Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) after suffering multiple injuries about 03:48 h, in a fight that broke out in one of the cells.
Police said they fought each other. Investigations into their deaths revealed that Blackman, 40, of Mocha, East Bank Demerara and Singh, 49, of Supenaam, Essequibo Coast, were in the Capital Block of the penitentiary about 02:30 h when the former is alleged to have attacked the latter with a piece of wood and dealt him several lashes about his body.
As a consequence, Police said a number of other prisoners inflicted blows on Blackman, an ex-policeman who was mentally unstable.
Blackman was a double murder accused after he went berserk at Brickdam Police Station, on March 1, 2004, disarmed a sentry at the gate and shot dead Deputy Superintendent of Police Richard Griffith and Lance Corporal Ramnarine Latchana. Corporal Clifton Nelson and two constables, Kester Cosbert and Royston Paddy were also injured in that attack.
Reports from the GPH said Blackman and Singh suffered serious injuries about their bodies, including broken limbs and wounds. (Guyana Cronicle)
February 3, 2010
Teen, man charged over security guard death
A man and a teen appeared at the Albion Magistrate’s Court yesterday charged with last week’s killing of 62-year-old security guard, Dhanpaul at Chesney, Corentyne and were remanded to prison.
Muneshwar Persaud, 28, of Belvedere Squatting Area, Corentyne, and Simon Pulingum, 17, of 52 Second Street, No.1 Road, Corentyne, were charged with manslaughter and appeared before Magistrate Adela Nagamootoo at the Albion Magistrate Court yesterday. They were remanded to prison until February 9.
Dhanpaul of No.1 Road, Corentyne was shot and killed last Friday. Reports at the time said that the Pulingum was playing with a gun belonging to the owner of the poultry farm, where both of them were employed, when it went off.
Dhanpaul sustained injuries to his upper left arm and succumbed at the scene after bleeding profusely from the wounds. Police had arrested the 17-year-old, another employee as well as the owner and his wife following the incident. The large-scale poultry farmer was said to be present during the shooting. (Stabroek News)
February 2, 2010
Duo charged with taxi-driver murder
Burnt body still to be positively identified
Bharrat Narine
Two East Bank Demerara residents were yesterday charged with the murder of taxi driver Bomeshwar Sukhdeo, although there has been no positive identification of the badly burnt corpse discovered in Mocha last week.
Balram Singh, a taxi driver of Agricola, and Bharrat Narine, a taxi service owner of 303 Grove Housing Scheme, were not required to plead when the capital offence was read to them at the Providence Magistrates’ Court.
Balram Singh
Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry explained to the two accused that they were before the court for the murder of Sukhdeo but were not required to plead at that time.
It is alleged that between January 19 and 27, Singh and Narine murdered the deceased at Mocha, East Bank Demerara. Singh and Narine, handcuffed together, stood side by side in the packed courtroom. There were additional police ranks present.
As the magistrate read the particulars of the charge to the men, Narine was visibly upset. His eyes were swollen and red. He shook his head as if in denial as Magistrate Sewnarine-Beharry read. Narine’s co-accused, Singh, was noticeably more composed. Before the charge was read he sat in the courtroom dock smiling.
Neither of the murder accused was represented by an attorney. The magistrate subsequently remanded them to prison. The matter continues on March 15.
Following Sukhdeo’s disappearance police, according to their prosecutor, discovered his missing car in Herstelling. Singh, the police prosecutor further said, was arrested after the discovery of Sukhdeo’s missing car. It was Singh who later confessed, the prosecutor told the court, and he implicated the number two accused, Narine.
Hours after Sukhdeo’s car was located, police found the burnt corpse suspected to be his. It was following the discovery of the body at Mocha that Singh and Narine were arrested.
They were among four persons in police custody assisting with investigations into the suspected murder of Sukhdeo. Sukhdeo disappeared two Tuesdays ago.
After the burnt body was found at Mocha, police had spent several hours combing the bushy area for clues. Government pathologist Nehaul Singh, who examined the body, had said that based on the presence of maggots, it could not have been there for more than a day.
He had said too that due to the state of the body, he could not determine how the man died. But based on his assessments, he conclude that the body was that of an East Indian male, not more that 25 years of age and based on measurements was five feet ten inches tall. This description almost matches that of Sukhdeo.
Sukhdeo’s relatives have since said that they believe the burnt corpse belongs to him. However, samples have been taken from the corpse for DNA testing to confirm this belief. It is not clear whether the samples were sent or when the results are expected. (Stabroek News)
February 1, 2010
Guard in police custody following shooting to death of suspect
The police are investigating the death of an unidentified man of mixed ethnicity which occurred at about 3.30hrs yesterday at Eping Avenue, Bel Air Park.
Initial investigations revealed that two security guards attached to Roraima Airways at Eping Avenue saw two men removing the batteries from a motor canter vehicle parked on the roadway. The guards challenged the men and managed to arrest one of them while the other escaped on a bicycle.
An MMC Security Service motor pick-up vehicle with three MMC Security Guards subsequently arrived at the scene and the unidentified suspect was handed over to them. The man was placed in the back of the vehicle along with one of the security personnel who was armed with a shotgun while the other two were in the cab.
It is alleged that the suspect attacked the security guard with him at the back of the vehicle in an attempt to escape, during which he was shot. He was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The security guard has been arrested and is in police custody assisting with investigations. (Guyana Cronicle)
