Recent events review Saturday, July 15 to Friday, July 21
Former Republic Bank employee Jamal Haynes will be spending the next six years in jail after he pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the attempted robbery of the bank’s Water Street branch that ended in a fatal shootout last Tuesday morning. Haynes, 24, Lot 4 Norton Street, Wortmanville, Keron Saunders, 24, of 59 Burnham Boulevard, Mocha, another bank employee, Shawn Grimmond, 23, of 137 Pike Street, Kitty, police constable Gladstone George, 24, Lot 55 Princes Street Lodge, and rural constable Anfernee Blackman, 21, of 65 Laing Avenue, West Ruimveldt, were all arraigned before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in Georgetown. The joint charge stated that the five men, while being armed with firearms, attempted to rob Republic Bank on July 4, at Water Street, Georgetown. The suspected mastermind of the botched heist, Elton Wray, also known as ‘Peas’, 25, of Eccles, East Bank Demerara, was fatally shot while trying to flee the bank after the shootout ensued, while Haynes and Saunders were captured.
Ramjattan briefs private sector on prison break
Amid jitters over Sunday’s prison break, the private sector yesterday met with Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan and heads of the police and prisons and the point was made that this government should not have disbanded the Law and Order Commission. After the meeting, Private Sector Commission member Gerry Gouveia told reporters that the dissolution of the bodies by Ramjattan may have led to decreased intelligence gathering and ultimately to last Sunday’s prison riot and razing of the Camp Street Prison. Gouveia said it was time for the APNU+AFC government to relook at both. His views and others issues were discussed at the meeting of the PSC and members of civil society with Ramjattan and Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud, Director of Prisons Gladwin Samuels and Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson. The meeting was held at the Georgetown Club.
Prison escapee recaptured
Police on the West Bank Demerara were last night able to apprehend murder accused Desmond James, one of the six prisoners who escaped from the Camp Street prison during Sunday’s jailbreak. Commander of ‘D’ Division Leslie James confirmed that at 10.50 pm, acting on information
Woman hid escapee in Canal Number One shack – residents say
Residents of Cameron Dam, Canal Number One said that murder accused Desmond James was hiding in an unfinished wooden shack along the dam since Friday after he was taken into the area allegedly by a female resident. It is not known whether police are seeking this woman or have questioned her. They said that while they noticed a strange individual occupying the shack, they had no idea it was one of the escapees from the Camp Street prison since he never gave them an opportunity to get a glimpse of his face. James, one of the six inmates who escaped from the Georgetown Prison last Sunday, was apprehended by the police on Friday evening. Commander of ‘D’ Division Leslie James had confirmed that around 10:50 pm on Friday, acting on information received, the police went to Cameron Dam where they conducted a search and found James.
Monday, July 17 No sign of jail-break ‘masterminds’
One week after the Camp Street prison fire and jailbreak which saw six prisoners escaping, joint services operations continued yesterday in Region 4 in search of the suspected criminal masterminds Mark Royden Williams, Uree Varswyck and the other escapees. The three others are Stafrei Alexander, Cornelius Thomas and Cobena Stephens. The sixth man Desmond James, was captured on Friday evening as he hid in a shack at Canal Number One, Region 3. While the Ministry of Public Security and the heads of the disciplined forces remained silent on if active pursuits of the criminals were being made, soldiers and police were seen in the D’Urban Backlands area of Georgetown yesterday as an army helicopter hovered overhead.
One body recovered following Moruca River collision
The body of Ravin Piper, the boy who went missing along with his father after the boat they were travelling in collided with another in the Moruca River, North West District, between Friday evening and Saturday morning, was found early yesterday. Ravin, 18, and George Piper,
CJ rules law doesn’t favour judges for Gecom chair
Acting Chief Justice Roxane George SC yesterday ruled that the list of nominees for the post of Guyana Elections Commission (Gecom) Chair does not have to include a judge, a former judge or a person qualified to be a judge and that the President must state reasons for rejecting any candidate. Additionally, Justice George also found that if the President finds one or more of the nominees unacceptable, it does not disqualify the entire list. Businessman Marcel Gaskin, who filed the motion seeking an interpretation of Article 161(2) of the Constitution earlier this year, in a statement yesterday expressed his satisfaction with the ruling, which was handed down orally. However, he objected to Justice George’s position that “the President is not obligated to select a person from the list, unless he has determined positively that the persons are unacceptable as fit and proper persons for appointment. This is a non sequitur and creates unnecessary misunderstanding and confusion,” he said. He has since instructed his attorneys to lodge a Notice of Appeal immediately.
Former NBS manager wins wrongful dismissal suit
Saying that former New Building Society (NBS) Manager Maurice Arjoon was “wrongfully dismissed,” Justice Brassington Reynolds yesterday found that he is entitled to recover all benefits that were lost as a result of the decision. Justice Reynolds, delivering the long-awaited ruling on Arjoon’s suit against the NBS in the High Court in Georgetown, said Arjoon is to be compensated accordingly for severance benefits, pension and loss of earnings. The court ordered that severance be paid in accordance with the Termination of Employment and Severance Pay Act, while the loss of earnings is to cover the period from dismissal to six months later, when Arjoon would have been retiring—June, 2007 to February, 2008. Loss of earnings are to be paid at an interest of 6% per annum and 4% from date of judgement. The payment of all outstanding leave passage and allowances were also awarded to Arjoon.
Ratty’ charged with killing bus driver in robbery
Orwin Peters, who was held in connection with the fatal shooting of bus driver Tedroy James, was yesterday
charged with the murder. Peters, 24, stood before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan, who read the murder charge to him in a Georgetown court. The charge stated that on July 11, at Georgetown, he murdered James, called ‘Six Head,’ in the course or furtherance of a robbery. Peters, also known as ‘Ratty,’ who is a mechanic of 48 Norton Street, Bagotstown, was not required to enter a plea to the indictable charge. Orwin Peters
Wednesday, July 19 Team STEMGuyana finishes 10th in first global robotics games
Team STEMGuyana finished in 10th place after overcoming many hurdles in their battle against 164 other nations at the inaugural First Global Games, a robotics competition held in Washington, DC, on Monday and Tuesday. Under the theme “H2O Flow,” the competition, which is modelled after the Olympics, tested the critical thinking, strategy, and ingenuity of the competitors, who were tasked to construct robots that would help solve the problem of access to clean water. “In spite of a series of challenges, the amazing Team Guyana ended the First Global Robotics Tourney in 10th place out of 165 teams. Team Guyana with four months’ experience performed an amazing feat. Guyana should surely be proud of her young people,” Karen Abrams, co-founder of STEMGuyana, said of the team’s performance last evening. The competition, which was streamed live, required teams to form a series of three-country-alliances over six rounds of competition, a difficulty in itself given the language barriers that existed.
Four High Court judges for swearing in today Linden child killer gets life sentence
Rawle Samuels, 29, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter for the brutal slaying of fouryear-old Jamal Nedd, whom he had knifed to death at Buck Hill, Linden, in 2013, was yesterday morning handed a life sentence. Imposing the sentence on a weeping Samuels was Justice Nareshwar Harnanan, who said the convict is not to be eligible for parole until after serving 30 full calendar years behind bars. In justifying his decision, Justice Harnanan asserted that the court could not lose sight of the fact that violence was used against a child, as a result of which his life was snuffed out. For that, he said, Samuels had to be dealt with “condignly.” Initially indicted for the murder of the child, Samuels had denied the capital charge two weeks ago, but admitted guilt on the lesser count of manslaughter at the High Court in Georgetown. His plea was accepted by both the state and court. The charge, to which Samuels admitted, stated that on February 6, 2013, at Lot 19 Buck Hill Wismar, Linden, he unlawfully killed Nedd. Jamal Nedd
Thursday, July 20 Army intercepts 210 lbs cocaine in Pomeroon River
Charges are expected to be laid against two men this week following the interception of a vessel carrying 95.45kg of cocaine by the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Coast Guard on Monday in the Pomeroon River, Essequibo. According to the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) in a release, the coast guard ranks who were on patrol came upon the vessel offshore and the men subsequently attempted to flee. “The ranks gave chase in their metal shark and caught and boarded the vessel.” Following a search which was conducted, a quantity of cocaine – equivalent to 210 lbs – was found stashed aboard. CANU in the release yesterday said that the suspects, John DaSilva called Martin of Grant Strong Hope, Pomeroon River, Essequibo and Kevin Fitz Gordon of Lot 18 Jib Housing Scheme, Essequibo are expected to be appear before a city magistrate this week. It was further stated that Gordon had been previously charged in 2015 for narcotics though he was acquitted and in June 2017 he was arrested by CANU ranks whilst he had in his possession a large quantity of US currency and handed over to the Special Organised Crime Unit. “As well, large quantities of similarly packaged cocaine were seized in Suriname earlier this month,” the statement added.
Police hunting Camp St escapee in Port Mourant backlands
Berbice police yesterday launched a manhunt for Camp Street Prison escapee, Stafrei Hopkinson Alexander in the Port Mourant backlands on the Corentyne. According to Commander of B Division, Ian Amsterdam, investigators received reliable information that Alexander, who is wanted for escaping lawful custody and murder, was spotted in the Port Mourant area. As of late yesterday afternoon, police were in the backlands carrying out the search. However, last night, Amsterdam confirmed to Stabroek News that the team of police had since returned from the area empty-handed. Amsterdam said, “We are now going back to the drawing board with the map of the area.” He also stressed that other searches will be executed at the earliest opportunity since they have information that the escapee may indeed be hiding in the area. The B Division Commander is asking Berbicians to report any sightings of the escapees, stating that, “Any information would be treated with the strictest confidence.” Amsterdam also noted that he wished to remind the public that harbouring a criminal is a serious offence, and as such, any persons found doing so, will be arrested and prosecuted.
Dynamic Airways files for bankruptcy
US-based Dynamic International Airways has filed for bankruptcy even as it assures passengers that normal operations will continue. A press statement yesterday from Captain Gerry Gouveia, CEO of Dynamic’s local handler, Roraima Airways, states that a voluntary Chapter 11 petition has been filed with the United States Bankruptcy Court in the Middle District of North Carolina, Greensboro Division. Dynamic carries large numbers of passengers to and from New York. According to the statement, the decision to file follows litigation matters resulting from Hajj flights the airline operated in 2014 for Air India as well as the entry of a judgment in the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina affirming an arbitration award against Dynamic issued by the Canadian Arbitration Association in April 2017.
Friday, July 21 Three sleeping Guyanese miners shot dead at Venezuela camp
Three Guyanese miners were shot dead, while three other persons were wounded in an early morning attack on Wednesday, when their camp at Imataka, on the Venezuelan side of the border, was raided by gunmen. Vernon Eudoxie, 48, Colwyn Solomon, 23, both of Fitzburg, Port Kaituma, and Samuel Moses, 19, of Four Miles Oronoque, Port Kaituma, were shot dead as they slept and one of the survivors said he and the other miners had to “play dead” to avoid being killed themselves by the Spanish-speaking gunmen. The gold mining camp was run by a Brazilian national and the survivor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Stabroek News that his and other camps were being raided by Spanish-speaking men once they were not paid for keeping the peace.
Businessman testifies about runaround to report presidential assassination plot to cops
Businessman Andrif Gillard yesterday told a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) of how his neighbour allegedly offered him money to assassinate President David Granger and the subsequent runaround he was subject to before the police took a report from him. Gillard, who operates a taxi service at Diamond, East Bank Demerara, testified that he had also declined an offer to kill the now dead Guyana Geology and Mines Commission engineer Trevor Abrams. The CoI, which is headed by now retired Assistant Commissioner of Police Paul Slowe and which will investigate the alleged assassination plot and the police force’s response, held a public hearing yesterday at the Department of Public Service on Waterloo Street. Gillard spent most of his almost two hours on the stand giving his evidence-in-chief but it was the subsequent questions from Slowe that provided some clarity. Andrif Gillard
Robotics team returns to warm welcome
Members of the STEMGuyana team, having adeptly represented the country at the just-concluded First Global Games, where they finished in 10th position, received a warm welcome upon arriving in Guyana on Wednesday night. Guyana was represented at the robotics challenge by Ryan Benschop (team captain), Vevekeanand Ramnarace, Christopher Nelson, Anthony Frank, Arrianna Mahase and Sahief Poese. The mentors were Coach Ricky Chan; team manager Farnaz Baksh; and PR Specialist Horace Mosley. The students hail from the University of Guyana, Diamond Secondary School, Bishops’ High School, Nations Sixth Form College, Government Technical Institute and Buxton Secondary. The young engineers were greeted by music from the Buxton Steel Orchestra band when they arrived at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, where they were met by First Lady Sandra Granger, Director of Sport Christopher Jones and numerous supporters.