Fisherman, family terrorized, robbed of over $7M in cash, jewelry

A Corentyne fisherman and his family were on Sunday evening attacked and robbed by four armed and masked bandits who relieved them of over $7 million in cash and jewelry. The man, Nakool Manohar, 47, called “Fire” resides at No. 43 Village, Corentyne, with his wife; Sattie Ettwaroo, 37, and their three children aged 17, 14 and 3 months.
Also sharing the home is Ettwaroo’s father-in-law; Seepaul Manohar, 64, and a 14 year-old boy.
At the time of the robbery, Nakool Manohar, was not at home. According to his wife, Sattie, at around 02:15 hrs, the bandits who gained entry into the home by breaking a window started firing several shots. The traumatized woman added that she and her daughters immediately hid in the back room of the house.
“Three of dem come cause one binna watch outside and dem come seh we come fah all de money and jewels.”
She stated that the bandits started hitting her across her hand as she pleaded for her safety and her children. “One of dem say if she can’t give everything, bring one of she daughter dem. Me gon rape she daughter right hay in front she”.
The hapless woman relayed that she handed over all the cash and jewelry they had, to the bandits. The gun wielding bandits carted off over $1.5 million in local currency, US$4,000, SRD $13,000 and $1.6 million in gold jewelry. The bandits also escaped with three cellular phones; two Iphones, one Samsung cellphone and one Laptop computer.
She added that after the bandits left, they returned and demanded to be given hidden valuables. “One of dem seh dis is nah all you gimme hay. You gotta gimme more”.
Sattie Ettwaroo added that one of the bandits referred to his partner by the name “Kishan” as they were about to leave. “De one downstairs lash me father-in-law in he head wid a bottle and de other one seh Kishan leh we go lang now”.
According to Nakool Manohar, he was on several occasions denied a firearm licence. “I running a business hay and every time meh go in, dem always ah find fault”. Police sources revealed that two persons have since been arrested as investigations are in progress.
Meanwhile, the crime situation continues to worsen in the Corentyne, Berbice area. Over the past month, there have been multiple gun related robberies in Rose Hall, Port Mourant and Belvedere.

Full Works Auto-Spares broken into, new stocks carted off

Employees of Full Works Auto-Spares got the shock of their lives when they opened the store on Saturday morning and found the place ransacked.

The window through which the thieves gained entry.

The employee who would usually open the business every morning said, “When I come in (Saturday), I noticed something wrong right away because all the boxes were scattered in the office.”
He said that the thieves gained entry to the building through an open window on the second floor and reached the bottom flat where they ransacked the place.
According to the owner he had received new stocks of LED lights, several radiators and other car parts only the day before. The thieves reportedly carted off an undisclosed number of car lights, radiators and shocks.
The proprietor of Full Works Auto Spares refused to estimate his loss. He said that the police lifted fingerprints from the windows and some radiators that were left behind.
In addition, a glass display case was broken into and some electronic items removed. When this newspaper visited the crime scene, several footprints were visible just beneath the window where the bandits gained entry.
It is assumed that at least two persons were responsible for the break in, the building has surveillance cameras but they couldn’t get any footage of the thieves.
The proprietor has stated that he is willing to give a reward for any information that could lead to the arrest of the person or persons involved in the crime.

Gun, ammo found under heap of grass in Alberttown

Port Mourant businessman chopped, robbed

Another Berbice businessperson has been robbed. This time, the owner of Limacine Service Provider Rawle De Matos was pounced upon while entering his yard at Port Mourant on Monday evening.

Rawle De Matos

Reports are that the businessman was attacked by two men, one of whom was armed with a gun and the other with a cutlass at about 21:00h.
Speaking with Guyana Times, De Matos said that the men were in his yard waiting for him as he entered. He related that the men demanded cash and jewellery and ordered that he take them into the house.
De Matos recalled that the men attempted to duct tape him and he resisted, during which a scuffle ensued. He was hit in the head with a gun and also chopped in the head.
The man however managed to free himself from his attackers and ran out of the yard, calling for help. During the attack, De Matos was relieved of $6000, and a cellular phone.
He was taken to the Port Mourant Hospital and then transferred to the New Amsterdam Hospital, where he remains a patient. No one has been arrested. Police are investigating.

Mystery arsonist spreads fear at Lethem

– torches minibus, throws devices into two houses
Who is setting those fires at Tabatinga, Lethem?
That’s what terrified residents of the community are trying to find out, after a mystery arsonist torched a minibus late last month and threw incendiary devices into the bedrooms of an elderly woman and a Health official early yesterday. Fortunately, in both instances, the victims of yesterday’s attacks managed to put the fires out.
The culprit, who attacks just before dawn, first struck on April 27, at the home of Bernadene Gomes. Mrs. Gomes said that she awoke at around 03.00 hrs that day to the sight of “big flames” in her yard.
“When we got up, smoke was in the house and the bus was on fire.” She said that the vehicle, BPP 1126, was destroyed. The bus was worth some $8M and she had the vehicle for four years. Her property is fenced.
Mrs. Gomes said that she could think of no one who would want to harm her family. She admitted that the strange attack has left her unable to sleep soundly.
“I keep going over this thing. You can’t sleep, we are living in fear right now.”
It is believed that the same individual struck twice yesterday.
One victim, 68-year-old Bibi Ann Austin, lives three houses away from Mrs. Gomes.
Mrs. Austin said that she had gone to her washroom, then returned to bed, only to awake at around 04.30 hrs to find that her mosquito net and some of her louvre panes were on fire.
She managed to extinguish the flames, and later heard her dog chasing someone “up the road.” The pensioner said that she informed ranks at the Lethem Police Station of the attack, but the ranks never came.
Like her neighbour, she has no idea why someone would want to harm her.
Then, about 30 minutes later, the arsonist attacked at the home of Regional Environmental Officer Juanita Jerrick-Williams.
Mrs. Williams said that she was in bed with three of her five children. The health officer said that she was just getting out of bed to pray, when she felt “something wet” on her back.
“By the time I turned around, I saw fire on my bed and mosquito net. I saw a shadow running to an unfinished building next to me, but we were too busy putting out the fire.”
No one was hurt, but the hair of her 12-year-old daughter was singed.
She said that the police came and saw footprints in her yard.
Mrs. Williams said that she has worked in Lethem for some 24 years, and has no problems with anyone.
Police sources at Lethem confirmed that they are investigating the reports.

Armed bandits rob local exporter near Police station

Corentyne gas station guards robbed

PNC boys make "big" drug bust as they catch "Indian drug lord"

Wakenaam farmer remanded for narcotics trafficking

Girl’s screams scare thief

An Anna Regina mother and her two young daughters panicked Saturday morning after they woke up to find an intruder in their home staring at them even as one of the woman’s daughters hollered frantically for “Thief, Thief!”
Neighbors who were alerted by the screams proceeded to surround the house but the masked man jumped through a front window and escaped.
But before the unknown bandit entered the woman’s house at Anna Regina, he had broken into a neighbour’s house. The police were alerted and were making checks for the man.
The bandit carried away money that was secured in a bag in the woman’s house.
Meanwhile, in Henrietta Village, an unoccupied house was broken into. The thief stole a television set. The police were alerted and checks were made but no suspect was held.(Yannason Duncan)

East La Penitence police under fire for perceived inaction

A Lodge resident is alleging that police officers from the East La Penitence Police Station refused to arrest the assailant of a battered man.
The victim, Richard Washington, who was assaulted about his body, is currently in the Georgetown Public Hospital with an injured arm and lacerations to his face and neck.
According to Ingrid Baird, of Princes Street, Lodge, Georgetown, Washington is a close family friend who often visits her son, much to the plight of neighbours in the area.
She told Kaieteur News that she was home when she saw a man called “Miggy” push Washington into
a nearby drain not far from her house. She said as she drew closer she saw some other men in the area rush to get involved in a brawl.
“And if you see how they tackling him and stabbing he up,” the woman said.
She said that when she came upon the scene, the men had already left Washington, covered in blood—unable to make a sound. The woman who expressed concern for the young man said that she believes that they were trying to kill him.
He was subsequently rushed to Georgetown Public Hospital by family members. She recounted that she returned home from the hospital to find all of her windows shattered in her house and broken glass bottles littering the kitchen floor, the living room and bedroom. She also observed broken bottles in her yard.
Baird told this newspaper that some men in her neighbourhood have been relentlessly harassing her and her working son, Jermaine Pollard, since they moved in two years ago. “They keep saying how they gonna murder me and my son; they threatening we telling we got to move out cause we are not Lodge people.”
Baird, 45, said that she had reported instances where these accused attackers barged into her yard and pushed her down. She said as recent as three weeks ago, a man called “Roger” stabbed her son’s girlfriend in her shoulder on her way to the shop to buy groceries for breakfast.
Both of these incidents she had reported at the East La Penitence Police Station but no one has been held responsible for the offences.
The woman, who said that she is a peaceful resident in her community, claims the police officers at the station only took statements but no thorough investigations were carried out.
“And I fed up; I have no peace in my house cause I keep believing someone gonna come in and kill me and my son.”
The woman said that only one person among the many of Washington’s attackers has been picked up by the police since the incident.
Despite these comments, Kaieteur News was reliably informed that police ranks are making strides into investigating the matter.

According to police, this is husband and wife story, not a crime.

Police shoot former cop dead

A former cop turned taxi driver was shot dead by the police after he allegedly pointed a gun at ranks and tried to escape after he was arrested for an alleged robbery committed on a Cummings Lodge resident early yesterday morning.
Ryan Vaux, called “Gaza”, 36, a former member of the Tactical Services Unit of the Guyana Police Force was shot while driving away from some armed police ranks outside the Sparendaam Police Station.

Ryan Vaux called “Gaza”(inset) car was pulled from a trench minutes after he collapsed from the gunshot wound.

Vaux who resided at 80 Norton Street, Lodge, eventually collapsed from the gunshot wound and crashed his Toyota Spacio into a trench about 800 metres east of the police station.
The police in a statement said that about 01:10 hour yesterday, ranks of a mobile police patrol along Broad Street, Montrose, East Coast Demerara, saw a man running behind a motor vehicle bearing registration PSS 6835 and shouting that he had been robbed of a sum of money by persons in the vehicle.
The police said that the ranks subsequently intercepted the motor vehicle with the driver and another man inside. In the passenger’s possession was $21,000.
According to the police the passenger along with the robbery victim who was identified as Deryck Persaud, 46, of Cummings Lodge, were placed into the police vehicle, while a police rank entered Vaux’s vehicle and they were taken to the Sparendaam Police Station.
There Deryck Persaud informed the police that he had been robbed by the two men who were armed with a handgun and a knife.
He told police that he was walking along the road when the car pulled up alongside him and the passenger got out and confronted him with a “Rambo” knife.
Persaud said that the man demanded his money and he initially resisted. He claimed that the driver of the car who apparently got angry by his reluctance to hand over his money, got out and pointed a gun at him, forcing him to hand over $25,000.
Persaud said that shortly after, he saw a police mobile patrol and he informed the ranks that he was just robbed by two men in the car that was speeding away in front of him.
The police gave chase and caught up with the vehicle and took the men to the station.
According to a source, at the station, the police decided to carry out a search of the car that was parked on the roadway.
Two armed ranks stood guard while a detective effected the search in Vaux’s presence.
The police said that as this was being done, Vaux suddenly bent down into the driver’s side of the car and pulled out a gun which he pointed at one of the armed ranks.
This newspaper was told that the ranks warned Vaux and ordered him to drop the weapon but he refused and drove away instead.
The ranks then discharged a round from their rifle at Vaux but he managed to drive out of their sight.
The police later drove in the direction in which Vaux had driven and found the car in the trench that separates Vryheid’s Lust and Better Hope.
It turned out that the weapon Vaux had brandished was a pellet handgun. It was found in the crashed car.
The other suspect is in police custody assisting with the investigations.
Meanwhile, relatives of the dead man who turned up to identify his body are not too convinced by the police version of the incident.
They say that the police explanation leaves a lot of unanswered questions.
“Why would he point a pellet gun at the police who had rifles in their hands?” questioned one female relative.
Vaux’s wife who was also at the Georgetown Public Hospital Mortuary declined to speak to this newspaper.
However she told investigators that her husband left home around 21:00 hours on Sunday to ply his trade which is usually done from outside the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.
She said that she was only informed about his death when a reporter contacted her shortly before midday yesterday.

Man robbed, shot in Kitty

– in broad daylight
Sean Harper, 46, yesterday, was fortunate to escape with his life after three masked gunmen pounced on him in Alexander Street, Kitty.
According to sources, Harper had just exited a popular store at the corner of Alexander

Sean Harper’s car at the scene of the robbery.

and Pike Streets, entered his vehicle and was about to drive off when three masked gunmen surrounded the vehicle, shot the window of the driver’s side and grabbed a bag containing some $1.8M and escaped in a waiting car.
Harper reportedly sustained gunshot wounds to his right leg and lower abdomen. The injured man was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital.
Staff at the hospital said that around 16:00 hrs Harper was in the theatre undergoing surgery to remove the bullets from his leg and abdomen. Investigations are ongoing.

These young men don't have to worry, Granger will let them loose in a year via amnesty.

Police capture bandits, recover gun after Rose Hall money-changers robbed

In a brazen daylight robbery, two armed and masked men robbed two popular money-changers in Rose Hall, Corentyne yesterday morning.
According to reports, the perpetrators were nabbed by law enforcement officers, moments after committing the daring act.
Reports stated that around 08:15 hrs, the armed men approached the money-changers and held them at gunpoint while demanding that they hand over their cash.
The men, Parsaram Sukraj and Anil Kumar Sukraj, after complying with the demands were placed to lie on the road while the bandits escaped on foot.
However, swift action by the police led to the capture of the two suspects. One of them, 21-year-old Curt Batson of Market Street, Rose Hall was wanted in connection with a spate of robberies that took place in the said area over the past few weeks.
The other suspect is 19-year-old Kelvin Bates. The police also managed to retrieve a .32 pistol and 5 rounds from the perpetrators.
Investigations are ongoing.

Mother’s day tragedy… Man splits brother-in-law’s head with cutlass

A Mother’s Day celebration ended in the wee hours yesterday with the vicious hacking to death of a 46-year-old painter.
Dead is Narine Seepaul called “Ham” of Lot 308 Bloomfield, Corentyne. The alleged assailant, his brother-in-law Bishram Ramsamooj, is a cane cutter who resides at the same address.
Information revealed that the two men were among a group of persons including other relatives who were imbibing alcohol beverages in celebration of Mother’s Day.
Reports revealed that Seepaul, who resides in the lower flat of the building, during the course of the evening, had left the other men imbibing and went to bed. Sometime after there were some heated arguments which forced Seepaul to intervene.
Around 02:30 hrs the arguments got more intense, and this led to a scuffle. Ramsamooj reportedly left and returned with his cutlass. It was during the ensuing melee that he allegedly chopped Seepaul twice to the head, severely lacerating it in the process.
The injured man, who was bleeding profusely, was picked up and rushed to the Port Mourant Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The accused had also visited the hospital to treat some wounds which he allegedly received. He was subsequently arrested and taken into custody.
Charges are likely shortly.

BANDIT KILLED BY ACCOMPLICE

A bandit identified as a former rank of the Tactical Services Unit, Eric Angel was on Monday night killed by his accomplice during an attempted robbery.

Around 23:00 hours the armed bandits attempted to rob a Brazilian shop owner at Eterinbang, Upper Cuyuni-Mazaruni.
According to Commander of ‘F’ Division Ravindradadt Budhram, the two suspects attacked the shop owner and the man put up a fight.
During the scuffle, one of the bandits accidentally stabbed his accomplice in the abdomen before escaping.
A source from the area told this publication that Angel, a father of two, hailed from Number 10 Village, West Coast Berbice. He had been laid off from his job as a private security guard just over two weeks ago.
It is reported that he got into an argument with another man. This resulted in him being asked to return his service weapon and leave the camp.
Instead of returning home he stuck around the “landing” and reportedly got involved with bad company during which they conspired to perpetrate a robbery.
Police ranks who were dispatched to the area on Tuesday have since retrieved the body and are making arrangements to have it flown back to the city. A search is on for the second accomplice to the robbery.

Lured, beaten and forced to have sex with foster parent

…woman tells her story of abuse

By Jeanna Pearson
A young woman was lured, beaten and forced to have sex with her former foster parent while his wife looked on. Someone allegedly videoed the entire episode of abuse.
This woman is ashamed to be photographed because, she says, she feels less of a person after the video of the act was posted on the internet.
“He called me and told me to come to the guest house. When I reached there and opened the door him, his wife and another person was sitting on the bed waiting for me,” the 20-year-old said.
“Then his wife grab me and ripped my clothes and tell me that I wanted her husband so she will give me a licking. Then she tell me to perform oral sex on him while they watch.”
The young woman, who was 19 years old at the time of the abuse, said she quickly obeyed because it was three of them against her and she was afraid that they would kill her.
She said that she went to live with the couple after her parents died and her family “split up” when she was 14 years old.
She would clean the house and complete her chores on time, she said. But afterward when she would retire to her room, she recalled, the man would come and try to touch her. Complaining did her no justice, she stated, remembering that every time she told her foster mom, the woman would chide her for lying.
“She never believed me. She believed everything he told her,” she said.
She said that right after the recent assault she called a friend and they went to the Brickdam Police Station, where a statement was taken and a medical certificate was provided. Yet, eight months later, the police have failed to bring her justice. She is continuously being harassed with death threats.
She said the police had informed her that the file would be taken to the Director of Public Prosecution for advice on the matter. She said that she was being bombarded by the couple that if she pushed the issue there will be fatal consequences.
She said that the police might not have done anything if the video was not uploaded on the internet. ‘A’ Divisional Commander, Assistant Commissioner Clifton Hicken, stated that the police were aware of the matter and are investigating.
However, now she is forced to not only battle the trauma of the assault but also that the video has gone viral.
She has been receiving counseling since the traumatic incident. She has contemplated suicide and she had suffered bouts of depression after the video went viral. “When I saw the video I felt really bad. I wanted to kill myself but I didn’t do it because I was receiving counseling. They wanted to ruin me. I didn’t have any relationship with that man,” she said, nervously rubbing her hands against the side of the chair.
She said the man had started “touching” and “rubbing her foot” when she was 16 years old. “The police are saying they don’t have enough evidence and it is disappointing. I felt disappointed with the police because they did nothing to help me get justice.”
Psychologist Dr. Dawn Stewart, who has been counseling the young lady, stated that she suffered significant emotional trauma after the assault and it escalated further when the video was posted on the internet.
“This mother who has a one-year-old child wanted to kill herself and her child. She thought no one was listening to her, no one trusted her, no one believed her and she still has trouble sleeping at nights. She wakes up in the middle of the night, remembering the gruesome assault.
“She said the video became her only evidence yet nothing moving on the law enforcement side. She said the persons were brought in for questioning by the police but was later released on bail.
“Why aren’t these persons prosecuted for their action? She hasn’t been given justice. Women need protection from the State!” Stewart said.
“The police need to investigate and bring charges against these people. The justice system is too slow…I believe that they don’t care and they take women for granted and this is a perfect example. When her first complaint was lodged it was completely ignored,” she indicated.
Stewart added that even if a woman “puts herself in a place where she can be raped or sexually assaulted, it is still unlawful for the perpetrator to commit the act.
“Because someone was raped or sexually assaulted that doesn’t mean that they dressed a way to attract that sort of attention or they acted a way that they should be raped. Rape is rape regardless of whatever the situation they find themselves in. Women’s lives matter. We need to be assertive and aggressive about taking care of our women,” she said.
She stated that Public Security Ministry should start adopting a “swift justice” method in handling cases of violence against women.
“This young lady needs to start her life over but she cannot do that if these people are not brought before the legal system.”
According to the United States Department of State 2015 report on this country’s human rights, local NGOs in Guyana observed that in most cases domestic violence reports were not taken confidentially but rather were discussed in the open at police stations. They were not treated as a matter of urgency.
For last year, law enforcement received 233 reports of rape and only 36 persons were charged. There was a large court backlog. A Judge has discretion to issue a sentence of any length in a rape conviction, depending upon the circumstances and severity of the act committed.
The police received 2,170 reports of domestic violence cases, and 1,131 persons were charged, resulting in a lack of confidence in the judicial system.
The report indicated that there are reports of police accepting bribes from perpetrators and other reports of Magistrates applying inadequate sentences after conviction.
Child Counselor Abigail Loncke told Kaieteur News, that she was left sickened by the content of the video. “I cannot imagine the emotional and psychological trauma that young lady must be going through,” she said, highlighting the woman not only has to deal with the trauma of the assault but also that the video was viral.
“It is painful enough to be abused but then to have the whole country know about that abuse…that you were beaten and then forced to perform sex on someone while others watched on that’s not only sadistic, but a life scar. These people were once entrusted to protect her – that too is traumatic. The mother figure forcing a girl to have sex with the father figure— that is unacceptable,” she said.
The United Nations Organization had reported that as many as seven in ten women in various parts of the world report having experienced physical and/or sexual violence at some point of their lives, most times at the hands of persons close to them.
The Heads of the organization have since called on Governments to honour their obligation to end violence against women and girls as outlined in the Convention of the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women.
Rape victims and victims of sexual assault face bouts of low self-esteem, high risk behavior, while some of them exhibit suicidal behaviour.

Retired professor bound, strangled in home

– killers came in car, seen leaving with suitcases
Police were last night trying to track down a gang of youths, including two females, who they believe bound and strangled a retired college professor in his Prashad Nagar home.

Undertakers removing the remains of Pairadeau Mars from St. Joseph Mercy Hospital last evening.

The body of 75-year-old Pairadeau Mars, called ‘Perry’, was found at around 19.00 hrs yesterday in his study, after his wife arrived at the couple’s Lot 395 Bissessar Street, Prashad Nagar home.
Kaieteur News understands that his hands were bound with duct-tape, and duct-tape was also wrapped around his mouth and neck. Police reportedly found a hammer and cutlass nearby.
The victim’s home was ransacked, and there was evidence that the killers had feasted in the home, since bottles and wrappers were strewn on the floor. There was also evidence that the killers lit the stove.
From information police have received, the killers are individuals who were known to Mr. Mars, a remigrant and Professor, who had lectured in ethnic studies at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, USA.
One key player in the callous killing is believed to be a young woman, who had lived a few houses away from the victim. Sources said that she was still regularly seen in the area, and would reportedly visit Mr. Mars’ home and beg for money.
Residents reportedly saw the suspects arrive in a car, and later saw them leaving the home with suitcases.
According to reports, the victim’s wife, Joan Mars, had travelled to Linden yesterday, and last communicated with her husband at around 14:00 hrs. She reportedly called at around 16:00 hrs and got no response.
She reportedly arrived at around 19.00 hrs and immediately realised that something was amiss, since the front door was ajar. Upon entering, she saw her husband’s bound body on the study floor.
Because the body was still warm, the woman reportedly believed that Mr. Mars was still alive, and, with assistance from neighbours, rushed him to the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The body was later taken to the Lyken Funeral Home.

“Casual” argument between brothers-in-law ends in death

Residents of Haslington were left in shock last evening after a “causal” argument between two brothers-in-law ended in deadly fashion.
Fifty-two year-old Terrance Adams was killed around 20:00hrs outside a shop he operated. Adams’ alleged assailant, Les Hamilton, was said to have been under the influence of alcohol when the incident occurred.
The dead man’s brother, Leyland Nelson, told Kaieteur News that Adams and Hamilton got into an argument just around 14:00hrs yesterday. He said that the dispute had simmered, but manifested itself again last night.
According to Nelson, when Hamilton began quarreling again, Adams brushed him off “because he knew he (Hamilton) was drunk.” Nelson said that his brother told Hamilton that he would deal with the issue “another time, when he (Hamilton) sober up” and so the argument died down again.
Nelson indicated that Hamilton then left the shop, “and I left a little after to go and buy tennis roll and cheese for us to eat”. He said that he was riding his bicycle returning to the shop when he saw a large crowd. Nelson said that he inquired and was told “Les jus’ jook up yuh brother.”
Nelson said that he rode further along the street and saw his brother lying on the road in a pool of blood.
Hamilton, who made no attempt to leave the murder scene, was apprehended on the spot, while the victim was rushed to Georgetown Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.