Charge against ‘Grey Boy’ not adding up

Dear Editor,

Your news article, `DPP advised cops to charge Rodrigues with Crum-Ewing murder,’ (SN August 9) should have been providing closure for relatives of Courtney Crum-Ewing, but as one of many observers closely following the March 10th execution-style killing and its continuing narrative, I have to admit something is not adding up with the decision to charge alleged trigger man Regan Rodrigues alone. I am not saying he was not involved in what is obviously a planned conspiracy to take out Crum-Ewing, but if we go back to the night of the hit, Stabroek News was one of the media outlets that cited eyewitnesses’ accounts that four men drove up in a Toyota A212 vehicle and confronted Crum-Ewing while he was doing his thing with his bullhorn. He was shot thrice in the head and twice in the torso, after which the vehicle sped away.

Four days later, the police detained two men and a vehicle. Nothing came of that and other detentions, until July 17 when the police claimed they made a breakthrough in the execution-style murder and the name, Regan Rodrigues, surfaced. Police reportedly said ballistic tests on a gun allegedly found in Rodrigues’ home matched the weapon used in the Crum-Ewing execution. From then to his formal arraignment on Thursday, last, we were led on a roller coaster ride of mutating information that was fraught with suspicion, because given Crum-Ewing’s high-profile political activism, and given he told the police he was threatened by two named PPP officials, there is no way a non-political entity like Rodrigues could have acted alone.

Moreover, there were four men in the car, so how come only one man is being indicted? What also became quite evident during this evolving process was that Rodrigues admittedly did have a checkered past, as he said that he was actually hired to carry out an alleged $3M hit on political activist, Mark Benschop. He said he refused and then informed Benschop, who then went to the police, who did nothing with the information. In fact, Rodrigues reportedly revealed that it was actually supposed to be a double hit, with Benschop being the first and then Crum-Ewing. This guy was not only openly implicating himself as a hit man, thereby making him believable; he was actually calling names of his handlers and associates.

One media report even had him calling out the name of a policeman who actually fired the shots that killed Crum-Ewing, so, I ask again: how come only one man is being indicted? Is it possible the police know more about this entire saga than they are letting on? On the day of his arraignment, Rodrigues reportedly exclaimed for public digestion that he did not kill anyone and that because ‘money passed’ the actual instigators, middle men or killers remain free. While he awaits his day in court, strangely without legal representation, the court of public opinion is abuzz with agreement that this guy is taking the rap for others, but no one (including the government) seems to care, perhaps because of his alleged criminal past. In short, the prevailing public perception is that the police are making him take the rap to save the police from what could be an explosive embarrassment. Editor, on the night that Crum-Ewing was executed between 19:40 and 20:00 hours, eyewitnesses reportedly said they were taken aback by the swift response by the police prompting some to question aloud if the police were actually anticipating the incident. More troubling was that at 22:00 hours, and while police were beginning to conduct investigations, the Home Affairs Ministry put out a mind-boggling statement, that although it was early yet to draw any specific conclusion or motive in connection with the perpetration of the “dastardly act”, the general public should be vigilant in respect of any act of violence provoked or unprovoked, that might be possibly initiated by those who may have a political agenda. The ministry’s statement also noted the coincidence between the fatal shooting and the earlier swearing in of the new Commissioner of Police, Seelall Persaud. Assistant Police Commissioner, Leslie James, also placed a surprising call to activist Dr. David Hinds all the way in Arizona to find out if he knew anything about the execution. James would be eventually re-assigned to work in the Police Commissioner’s office, which some may deem a demotion. Then reports began surfacing that Crum-Ewing actually reported to police he was threatened by two named PPP personalities, but the police did nothing (as with the Benschop police report), and that he actually had a personal encounter with the former Attorney-General in his office. To the discerning mind, the Crum-Ewing killing quickly began taking on political overtones with advertent or inadvertent help from both the police and the PPP government, and the overtones have not dissipated to this day. In closing, while no one knows whether this narrative will end with Regan ‘Grey Boy’ Rodrigues taking the rap and doing time for this highly politicized crime or will eventually ‘walk on a technicality’, two things stand out: 1) Guyanese seem to be more concerned about how the coalition government is handling this case and not just that the previous government may be answerable for the circumstances that triggered the case, and 2) although the incident occurred on the PPP’s watch and may implicate the police, the entire police force urgently needs a massive overhauling. If it will help, arrange for the British police to work alongside their local counterparts, because it is obvious the cancer of corruption that afflicted the PPP has made a bad situation worse in the police. Yes, there is hope!

Yours faithfully,

Emile Mervin