Thirty-four-year old Colvin Johnson known as ‘Gun-Butt’ is in a critical state at the Georgetown Public Hospital after he was stabbed by another prisoner while in the holding cell of the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court on Thursday morning.

Johnson of East Ruimveldt, Georgetown is on remand for the murder of Paul Rodney and was scheduled to make an appearance before a city Magistrate this morning when the incident occurred.

Details surrounding the incident are still unclear at this time as prisoners refuse to divulge information.

FIVE persons are now in police custody after armed bandits made off with more than $4M from the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) Pouderoyen Branch, West Bank Demerara on Thursday.

According to ‘D’ Division (West Demerara) Commander, Leslie James the robbery occurred at around 2:30h on Thursday. He said based on information received, six armed bandits invaded the NIS Branch at Pouderoyen, relieving one of the two guards on duty of his firearm in the process.

The bandits, reportedly, then proceeded to blow-torch a safe, before making good their escape with more than $4M.

“They blow-torched the safe and took out the content,” the Division ‘D’ Commander said, however he was unable to confirm the total amount stolen by the bandits.

James said five persons, including employees of the Insurance Scheme and the two guards who were on duty at the time of the robbery, are in custody assisting with investigations into the multi-million dollar robbery.

When Guyana Chronicle visited the crime scene, the gates were locked as two female Special Constabulary guards watched over the premises.

“We don’t know anything, I only come here 10 o’clock, and I ain’t know what happen. Everybody you should talk to, at the station,” one of the guards told this newspaper.

She was later overheard informing a number of pensioners that the branch was closed for the day. NIS Public Relations Officer (PRO) Dianne Baxter confirmed with this newspaper that the crime had been committed but was unable to give particulars, indicating that the information was not available at the moment.

However, this newspaper understands that that branch had only this week received contributions from businesses for their employees. Additionally, the branch was reportedly scheduled to pay pensioners.

A security guard is now in critical condition at the New Amsterdam Hospital after being stabbed by her daughter’s boyfriend.
Injured is Nivonne Aubrey Trim of Number 77 Village Housing Scheme, Corriverton, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), who was stabbed to her chest and hand. Reports are the incident occurred on Monday evening in Corriverton, Berbice, when the woman tried to make peace between her 21-year-old daughter and her 48-year-old boyfriend.
Guyana Times was told that at about 19:30h, the man was drinking with friends when he and his girlfriend got involved in an argument.
According to one eyewitness, Trim arrived on the scene and in her daughter’s defence tried to make peace between the feuding couple, when the man who was armed with a knife, stabbed her.
The man’s friends managed to take the knife away from him and Trim was rushed to the Skeldon Hospital and later transferred to the New Amsterdam Hospital because of the extent of her injuries.
Police have since arrested the man. (Andrew Carmichael)

A 58-year-old grandmother of New Amsterdam, Berbice, was on Friday jailed for attempting to traffic a prohibited substance into the New Amsterdam Prison.

Ramraji Deonarine, a security guard of Lot 257 Mayor and Town Council Scheme, New Amsterdam, pleaded guilty to a charge, which stated that on January 12, she interdicted narcotics into the prison. Deonarine had six grams of cannabis concealed in a bar of soap which she was taking to a convicted prisoner, Anthony

Persaud.

Police Prosecutor, Inspector Orin Joseph told the court that on Thursday, Deonarine requested to visit the convicted prisoner and at the time had a bag containing several items she was taking for him. The prosecutor explained that Prison Officer Jennifer James, during an inspection of the items, discovered that a part of the soap was dug out and the drug inserted and then covered with a piece of soap from the same bar.

According to Deonarine, she met Persaud while working as a guard at St Theresa Primary School one year ago, but he was jailed for three years. According to her, over the past year, she had been visiting Persaud in prison.

She said that on the day in question, someone met her at the prison door and asked her to take the bag to him. She said she was unaware of what was in the bag.

Magistrate Marissa Mettelholzer imposed a three-year jail sentence and fined her $15,000.

Three females and six males were on Friday morning arrested after Police swooped down on an illegal operation at Rasville, Georgetown, where several live rounds of ammunition for two different calibres of weapons and a large quantity of ecstasy pills were unearthed.
Reports are Police acting on information conducted a search in several apartments, during which they found 16 live rounds of different calibres of ammunition and 180 ecstasy pills.
The Police are working on the theory that the early morning arrest is a direct spin-off with the recent arrest of a Tucville mechanic, who was arrested on Thursday evening with a .45 rifle and one live round of 9mm ammunition.
The suspect, Caesar Gonsalves, of Lot 119 Turn Drive, East La Penitence, Georgetown, was arrested and placed before the courts. He was remanded to prison and will make his next court appearance on January 24.
However, the nine persons in custody following the raid on Friday morning are being questioned and charges are expected to be laid in the new week.

A woman and her daughter were left traumatised after they were robbed at gunpoint, moments after reaching their Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara home on Friday. The entire episode was captured by surveillance cameras that surrounded the family’s house.

Reports are the two women had visited a city bank earlier in the day and may have been trailed by the perpetrators in a silver-grey car. The surveillance footage posted by the women on social media showed that within a minute after arriving at home, the car pulled up alongside them and two men exited.

The men who were carrying handguns and had their faces covered with handkerchiefs exited and walked towards the parked vehicle belonging to the women. They then relieved the women of an undisclosed sum of cash and escaped in the motorcar that was driven by an accomplice. Persons in the area were in shock and hardly had time to react.

The Police are in possession of the surveillance footage as they continue their investigations. Attempts to contact the women proved futile.

A miner of Moruca Village, North West District (NWD), was in the wee hours of Sunday stabbed to death, during a confrontation with another man in the village.

Dead is Robert “Bobby” Ferreira, 30. Based on information received, Ferreira and two friends, who had travelled to the village, were at a get-together when an

argument broke out among the group of men.

The argument quickly escalated, and one of the men broke a bottle and stabbed Ferreira to his leg. The injured man was subsequently picked up and rushed to the hospital, but it was too late.

Speaking with Guyana Times, the dead man’s father, Virgil Ferreira explained that he received a call from his eldest son at about 03:50h informing him that Bobby had been stabbed.

He explained that his son worked in the interior and returned home to spend the holidays. He was accompanied by two friends.

“It was him and these two friends were at a hang when the confrontation occurred… I don’t know if it was a broken bottle or a knife that was used to stab my son… all the information I received was that he was stabbed,” the father related.

He further explained that after his son was stabbed to the leg, his friends ran after the suspect to apprehend him.

“His friends thought that a stab on the foot was not that serious and ran after the suspect, but apparently, due to the stab wound, the main artery was severed causing a blood blot which had directly affected the heart,” he explained.

After the two men returned with the suspect, they placed the injured man into a vehicle and took him to the hospital. Unfortunately, within a few minutes of his arrival at the medical facility, he succumbed.

The grieving father confirmed that the suspect hailed from the village and was in Police custody assisting with the investigations. Meanwhile, the father is calling on the relevant authorities to ensure that the post-mortem examination is done in a timely manner so that his son can be laid to rest.

The reason for this request, he explained, is that bodies are often kept for long durations at the mortuary with no pathologist to perform the post-mortem. Eventually, the bodies are buried without family members knowing the cause of death of their loved ones.

Ferreira leaves to mourn his parents, and 11 siblings. The Police are continuing their investigations into the murder.

– Dharmic Sabha calls for swift justice

Members of the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha are now appealing to the Police for justice after their West Coast Berbice Mandir was broken in to Saturday night.
According to reports, a member of the Number Three Vishnu Mandir on the West Coast of Berbice made the discovery. Several Murtis were damaged and it was reported that several microphones were also stolen.

The Sabha, in a Facebook post Sunday morning, said: “It is our hope that those who committed this violation of this Mandir be dealt with by the law.”
Investigations are ongoing.

AN overseas-based Guyanese leaving Guyana after enjoying the Christmas season here was busted Saturday night at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) with over one kilogramme of cocaine. The 45-year-old construction worker, who was returning to New York, was arrested by Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) officers after the illegal substance was discovered in false walls of his suitcase.
The drug-enforcement agency made its first bust for the year on January 4, when a 24-year-old Guyanese woman, said to be a frequent traveller, was arrested with 4.2 kilogrammes of cocaine at the Eugene F. Correia International Airport at Ogle.
The drug was stashed in a suitcase belonging to the woman, who was preparing to board a flight to Antigua and Barbuda.

A SEVENTY-THREE-year-old man jumped off his balcony to flee three bandits who were trying to invade his home late Wednesday night. In the end, Lalta Mohabir, called “Lutch,” of 13 Alness Village, East Berbice-Corentyne, suffered a broken ankle. According to reports, around 23:30hrs on Wednesday, Mohabir, who lives alone was awakened by the sound of glass breaking. As he got up, he armed himself with a cutlass to ward off the three bandits. However, the noise intensified coming from an eastern side door and his widows on the said side being broken.
Fearing for his life, the overseas-based Guyanese hurriedly exited through a western side door and then jumped off his balcony injuring his ankle in the process. However, this did not stop him as he continued to run through his yard then scaled his neighbour’s fence and raised an alarm. The neighbours upon hearing his shouts called the police, by which time the bandits made good their escape after being unable to enter the heavily grilled house. Mohabir was taken to the Port Mourant Hospital, where he was referred to the New Amsterdam Hospital. He was later treated and sent away.

… minibus conductor arrested

A tattoo artist was on Friday evening stabbed to death during an alleged robbery in the vicinity of Demico House, Stabroek Market, Georgetown. Raul Rodrigues, 40, also called “Tattoo Man” of Lot 64 Leopold Street, Georgetown, was attacked and stabbed once to his chest by two men during the robbery.

Reports are Rodrigues, who is also a mason, was consuming alcohol in Leopold Street, Georgetown earlier in the day but reportedly left to collect his child’s mother, who was getting off from work at 20:00h.

However, Guyana Times understands that while walking in the vicinity of Dairy Bus Park, he was attacked by two males where he was stabbed. In an attempt to escape from his assailants, he collapsed in front of Demico House. The perpetrators reportedly relieved him of an iPhone he was carrying at the time.

He was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC) where he reportedly died while receiving medical attention.

Annastacia Rodrigues, a sister of the dead man told Guyana Times that she was at home in Campbell Street, Albouystown, when she received a telephone call informing her that her brother was stabbed. As she was hurrying out, another friend told her that he was dead and that the family must rush to the hospital.

Upon arriving at the medical facility, she was restricted from seeing her brother although she pleaded with the security guards to be allowed to see him.

“About an hour and a half later, they come out and tell us that he was dead,” she related. Again, she requested to see her bother but that request was denied. However, she returned to the Police Station on Saturday morning where she was told that someone was arrested for the murder.

“The Police tell me that they arrested a man, but they could not say if he was the one who stabbed my brother, but they tell me that investigations are continuing,” she noted.

Nevertheless, she recalled that her sister was also stabbed and killed six years ago but no one was ever charged for the murder. She however, vowed to seek justice for her brother this time around.

While at Rodrigues’ house, her mother fainted several times as she cried out “they kill him… they kill him… no body nah do nothing to save he life.”

Meanwhile, the mother of the dead man’s child reportedly told Police that she left work and was heading to the minibus park when she saw someone lying on the ground and upon checking, she realised that it was Rodrigues. She noted that from all indications, he was already dead.

The Police in a release stated that Rodrigues was involved in an altercation with two men when one of them armed himself with an object and dealt him one blow to the region of his heart. Guyana Times understands that a 28-year-old minibus conductor was arrested and is being questioned in relation to the murder.

Rodrigues leaves to mourn his mother, siblings and three daughters.

A 63-year-old convicted cocaine mule from South Ruimveldt, Georgetown, who was recently release from prison for drug trafficking, was nabbed by agents of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) for allegedly attempting to ship 22 pounds of cocaine to Toronto, Canada.
Reports are Denis Jones, who was deported from the United States for cocaine possession, was arrested at his West Ruimveldt, Georgetown home by members of the drug enforcement agency.
It was reported that Jones was listed as the sender of a package to Canada, which contained 22 pounds of cocaine hidden among several bottles of wine, a quantity of custard powder and other products.
The package was intercepted as it was being loaded onto a Fly Jamaica flight destined for Toronto. Guyana Times understands that the members of the drug enforcement unit suspected something was amiss when they saw the name of the sender.
Upon opening the box, the ranks conducted a thorough search and it was at this time that the cocaine was found in the custard powder packets. They immediately pulled the package and it was taken to CANU’s Headquarters, where several small packets of cocaine were extracted and weighed.
The agents then went to the man’s home on Thursday where he was found and arrested. Charges are expected to be laid as soon as Monday. In 2012, Jones pleaded guilty to trafficking 700 pounds of cocaine in soap powder packets to Niger, Africa.

…injures pedestrian, cyclists in process

A horse thief managed to evade arrest after Police gave chase in Tucville, Greater Georgetown, with a horse he had stolen some two weeks ago from a Better Hope, East Coast Demerara man.
According to a friend of the horse’s owner, he was in the Tucville area around 11:30h on Sunday when he saw a man riding the stolen horse.
He immediately alerted a Police mobile patrol passing at the same time.
However, when the bandit observed the Police, he attempted to escape with the horse, colliding with a pedestrian and cyclists in the process.
This collision resulted in an elderly man suffering injuries to his head and damage to the rear wheel of the cycle.

The bandit then dismounted the horse and made good his escape by scaling a nearby fence, and plunging into a canal.
The Police were forced to abandon the chase as they transported the injured pedestrian to a medical facility.
The owner of the horse, Rohan (only name given) of Better Hope, made a report to the Sparendaam Police Station about two weeks ago.  It is alleged that the perpetrator is a known felon called “Gunzie”, who was wanted for other criminal activity.
The horse was taken to the East La Penitence Police Station.