Prison Officer killed, six others injured in Prison fiery unrest

Jul 10, 2017 News 0 Comments

By Feona Morrison

Prison Officer Odinga Wickham succumbed to a gunshot wound to the chest and chop wounds inflicted on him by inmates at the Camp Street Prison, while undergoing treatment at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), last evening.
His colleague, Hubert Trim, who was the Duty Officer at the time, is in a critical state having sustained chop wounds to the head. He was undergoing surgery up to late last night.
Up to press time Prison Officers Simeon Sandy, Errol Daphness, Drexel Gonsalves, Jason Maltoy and Dominic Mingo were also receiving treatment for either gunshot or chop wounds or a combination of both.
Keron Cummings, who escaped from the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court lock-ups in 2014, Mark (only name given) and Mohamed Potham, were some of the inmates injured during the fiery ordeal.
They too were taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital.  Cummings is facing robbery under-arms charges.
During a press briefing around 23:00hrs yesterday, Deputy Director of Prisons Gladwin Samuels said there were no reports of fatalities among prisoners.
Samuels was unable to give an estimate of how many Prison Officers were on duty at the time. Reports reaching this newspaper indicate that the inmates disarmed Prison Officers and shot them. The inmates also used improvised weapons to inflict chop wounds on the Prison Officers.
As the fiery unrest unfolded at the prisons, several ambulances and Prison Service vehicles transported the injured Prison Officers and inmates to the hospital.
Security officials at the hospital cordoned off a section outside the Accident and Emergency Unit and monitored persons coming into the hospital compound.

KILLED: Prison Officer Odinga Wickham

INJURED: Prison Officer Hubert Trim

INJURED: Prison Officer Simeon Sandy

Several Prison Officers and policemen converged at the hospital. Some of them cried as they recounted the heinous ordeal.
According to a prison officer, one of his colleagues was held hostage by a prisoner but miraculously managed to escape by scaling the prison fence.
Relatives of the injured rushed to the hospital but some of them were barred from entering the compound.
This started an uproar as relatives hurled derogatory remarks at security and police officers who bolted the gate at the pedestrian entrance. Persons however, sneaked into the compound when the guards opened the gate for the ambulances to drive in.
Minister of Health, Volda Lawrence, who was present at the GPHC last evening said that the Emergency Unit is well equipped to deal with the situation since all medical supplies are in stock.

Deputy Director of Prisons: Gladwin Samuels

INJURED: Prison Officer Dominic Mingo

INJURED Prisoner: Keron Cummings

Minister Lawrence stated that adequate doctors, specialist and laboratory technicians are on board. “We have called out everyone. So the Emergency Unit is well equipped with the staff to be able to address the situation as it continues.”
In addition, the Health Minister disclosed that there are ample medical supplies in place and the hospital has already sought more suitor kits.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) acting of GPHC, Brigadier Retired George Lewis, said that an emergency medical centre has been set up in the parking lot of the hospital to help out.
“We are not overwhelmed and we won’t be. We have already contacted the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) to procure items for an emergency if a need arises,” the acting CEO disclosed.
Lewis stated that the Guyana Red Cross Society has also been called in for support.
Staff from a party rental company was seen assembling large tents just outside the Psychiatric Clinic for the emergency medical centre last evening.
President David Granger during a press briefing last evening extended condolences to the family of Prison Officer Wickham.

Bus driver shot dead trying to save passengers from bandits

Jul 12, 2017 News 0 Comments

– Agricola twins among suspects

A Route-32 (Parika/Georgetown) Minibus driver is now dead after he was shot trying to save his passengers from three bandits yesterday.
The dead man has been identified as 38-year-old Tedroy Neil James of Suddie,

The area where the shooting took place being cordoned off. The minibus that Tedroy Neil James  (inset) was driving can also be seen.

Essequibo Coast.
The shooting occurred in the vicinity of Middle Street Mc Doom, East Bank Demerara sometime around 11:30hrs.
According to reports, James was driving minibus BTT 976 north along the East Bank Demerara Public Road – presumably heading to Georgetown – when he was instructed by a male passenger whom he had picked up on the West Coast of Demerara, to stop at Middle Street Mc Doom.
As the male passenger was about to disembark the vehicle, two male suspects, one armed with a handgun, pounced on the unsuspecting passengers and began to rob them.
James upon noticing the ruckus, attempted to drive away, apparently to create some distance between the robbers and his passengers. The father of two was fatally shot by one of the men in the process.
The suspects then made good their escape by hopping the median before running into a nearby street.
Public-spirited citizens subsequently took James to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
The police in a press release stated that James was shot in the back.
The release also stated that one of the suspects is in police custody.
Kaieteur News was later informed that two men were being held in connection to the shooting. They have been identified as the Vasconcellos twins from Agricola.
One of the brothers is Curtis Vasconcellos. He is currently out on bail for robbery and an attempted murder.
Curtis Vasconcellos was one of the two men that led the police on a high-speed chase in Georgetown last November after allegedly robbing accountant, Baldeo Seegobin at the Tower Suites Hotel.
Meanwhile, the James family is now contemplating their next move.
The dead man’s sister, Aniki James, said that her brother was a hard worker and would have recently procured the minibus. She said that her brother’s death came months after she would have lost another sibling.

Django, it could have been your aunt Lucille in that hammock. Guyana is a dangerous place. 

Mitwah posted:

Django, it could have been your aunt Lucille in that hammock. Guyana is a dangerous place. 

Guyana became a more dangerous place,never was like that when i was living there,too many guns in the wrong hands,the country is like the old Wild West.

The country needs trusted undercover law officers to rat out the miscreants,Bear in mind this branch of undercover law officers should not be used for Political purposes.

Burnham had one they were spying on the People and Politicians,one of my friend brother [an Indian] was with the branch,also experience their activities [in the 80's] while with a Political Party holding meetings in Berbice.

Django posted:

Mitwah posted:

Django, it could have been your aunt Lucille in that hammock. Guyana is a dangerous place. 

Guyana became a more dangerous place,never was like that when i was living there,too many guns in the wrong hands,the country is like the old Wild West.

The country needs trusted undercover law officers to rat out the miscreants,Bear in mind this branch of undercover law officers should not be used for Political purposes.

Burnham had one they were spying on the People and Politicians,one of my friend brother [an Indian] was with the branch,also experience their activities [in the 80's] while with a Political Party holding meetings in Berbice.

Can we say Gajraj and the likes of Rajah Khan?

skeldon_man posted:

Django posted:

Mitwah posted:

Django, it could have been your aunt Lucille in that hammock. Guyana is a dangerous place. 

Guyana became a more dangerous place,never was like that when i was living there,too many guns in the wrong hands,the country is like the old Wild West.

The country needs trusted undercover law officers to rat out the miscreants,Bear in mind this branch of undercover law officers should not be used for Political purposes.

Burnham had one they were spying on the People and Politicians,one of my friend brother [an Indian] was with the branch,also experience their activities [in the 80's] while with a Political Party holding meetings in Berbice.

Can we say Gajraj and the likes of Rajah Khan?

"Bear in mind this branch of undercover law officers should not be used for Political purposes."

Did you miss the above ??

Wha yuh saying Gagraj [Minister of Gov't] swore in Roger[Convicted Drug Dealer] as a law officer ?? and Ramsammy [Minister of Gov't] assist to get the spy equipment.

Django posted:

skeldon_man posted:

Django posted:

Mitwah posted:

Django, it could have been your aunt Lucille in that hammock. Guyana is a dangerous place. 

Guyana became a more dangerous place,never was like that when i was living there,too many guns in the wrong hands,the country is like the old Wild West.

The country needs trusted undercover law officers to rat out the miscreants,Bear in mind this branch of undercover law officers should not be used for Political purposes.

Burnham had one they were spying on the People and Politicians,one of my friend brother [an Indian] was with the branch,also experience their activities [in the 80's] while with a Political Party holding meetings in Berbice.

Can we say Gajraj and the likes of Rajah Khan?

"Bear in mind this branch of undercover law officers should not be used for Political purposes."

---

 

Did you miss the above ??

Wha yuh saying Gagraj swore in Roger[Convicted Drug Dealer] as a law officer ?? and Ramsammy assist to get the spy equipment.

This did not stop the PNC before. Why is it different now? Maybe your memory is failing.

skeldon_man posted:

Django posted:

skeldon_man posted:

Django posted:

Mitwah posted:

Django, it could have been your aunt Lucille in that hammock. Guyana is a dangerous place. 

Guyana became a more dangerous place,never was like that when i was living there,too many guns in the wrong hands,the country is like the old Wild West.

The country needs trusted undercover law officers to rat out the miscreants,Bear in mind this branch of undercover law officers should not be used for Political purposes.

Burnham had one they were spying on the People and Politicians,one of my friend brother [an Indian] was with the branch,also experience their activities [in the 80's] while with a Political Party holding meetings in Berbice.

Can we say Gajraj and the likes of Rajah Khan?

"Bear in mind this branch of undercover law officers should not be used for Political purposes."

---

 

Did you miss the above ??

Wha yuh saying Gagraj swore in Roger[Convicted Drug Dealer] as a law officer ?? and Ramsammy assist to get the spy equipment.

This did not stop the PNC before. Why is it different now? Maybe your memory is failing.

Watch how the "Jail break Crisis" is managed,Military man is dealing with it.

This conversation should have been on a different thread.

Thieves escape with granny’s gold-plated teeth after brutal beating

 Jul 17, 2017  News 0 Comments

A 78-year-old woman was subjected to a brutal beating early yesterday- all because the two men who broke into her home wanted her gold plated teeth—and they did take them.

Roohnee Mithuram at the hospital yesterday.

Roohnee Mithuram of Lot 357 Eccles, East Bank Demerara (EBD) was choked, punched, slapped and had a pillow placed over her face around 03:00 hrs yesterday when two men in their mid-twenties to early thirties gained entry to her home from a kitchen window.
To wake her, the men placed a pillow on her face for several minutes and when she got up, she was punched in the face.
They tied her feet and continued hitting her in the face while asking where she had the money and jewelry.
In the end, the men escaped with the elderly woman’s teeth—even the ones that did not have gold, $6,000, three gold rings and personal documents.
A police source said that the men escaped after the pensioner fainted and a possibility exists that they thought she was dead.
Yesterday, one of the woman’s relatives, Chandra Katwaroo, said that after she heard about the incident, she went over to the woman’s home where she met her. The woman’s face was swollen and had black and blue marks.
Mithuram was rushed to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre where she was treated and sent home to rest.
The pensioner related that she was in bed sleeping when the men went into her bedroom and put a pillow on her face to wake her.
When she got up, they demanded that she tell them where the valuables were as they beat her.
Not satisfied with what they had gotten and upon realizing that the woman had gold plated teeth in her mouth, they started punching her to get them out.
“She had six teeth in her mouth. Now she has none and I am not finding any in the house so like they take all, even the ones that did not have gold,” an angry Katwaroo posited.
The woman added that the thieves did not spare the 78-year-old woman—they kicked her in the ribs, choked her and cuffed all over her face.
“They really brutalize her. They take her passport and ID (Identification card) and even her wedding band that she wore for 62 years,” Katwaroo said.
The elderly woman even passed out and when she got up, she realized that the men had gone. “She untied her feet and went to call out for neighbours but no one responded,” Katwaroo noted.
She added that someone who would usually check on the woman found her crying sometime after 06:00 hrs yesterday while sitting in her yard.
The police was contacted and finger prints were taken.
Katwaroo is annoyed at the fact that the thieves brutalized such an elderly woman for money when in fact she lives on her pension.
Since the passing of her husband, the 78-year-old woman has been living by herself.

Teen inmate stabbed in Lusignan Prison brawl

 Jul 17, 2017  News 0 Comments

A misunderstanding between three inmates at the Lusignan Prison has left one prisoner nursing stab wounds about his body.
Eighteen-year-old Allan Basdeo of Lot 4030 Zeelugt Squatting Area, East Bank Essequibo was on Saturday evening stabbed to his lower back and abdomen after he was attacked by two inmates, with whom he had an argument. The attackers used improvised weapons to inflict the wounds.
According to information, the 18-year-old who is incarcerated on a simple larceny charge got into an argument around 20:45 hrs which resulted in him receiving several stabs wounds about his body.
Basdeo was treated at the prison by a nurse.

Camp Street prison unrest… Another escapee recaptured

 Jul 18, 2017  News 0 Comments

…four more to go

Wanted: Bartica and Lusignan massacre killer Mark Royden Williams, ex-cop Uree Varswyck, Stafrei Hopkinson, and Cobena Stephens

Cornelius Thomas, one of the prisoners who escaped during the fire at the Camp Street prison two Sundays ago has been recaptured.
The 32-year-old of Lot 36 Guyhoc Gardens was arrested around 15:00 hrs at ‘C’ Field Sophia, Georgetown.
Kaieteur News was informed that the police on receiving information that the escapee was hiding out there, went to the location and arrested him. He was on remand for murder.
On Friday, another prison escapee, Desmond James was arrested in an abandoned shack at Canal Number One, West Bank Demerara (WBD).
He was caught with a knife and a few pieces of clothing and told the police that he was heading to Essequibo.
Those still on the run are Bartica and Lusignan massacre killer Mark Royden Williams, ex-cop Uree Varswyck, Stafrei Hopkinson, and Cobena Stephens, 26, of Buxton. Based on information, Uree, Williams and Hopkinson are together and are hiding out in the backlands.
Just before 17:00 hrs last Sunday, the Camp Street prison surveillance cameras picked up five prisoners exiting the facility and making their way towards Bent Street, Georgetown, while opening fire on Tactical Service Unit (TSU) ranks that were guarding the compound.
It is suspected that Thomas and Stephens slipped away while they were being transported to the Lusignan Prison.
Following the unrest, prison officer Odinga Wickham succumbed to gunshot wounds inflicted on him by inmates at the prison. His colleague, Hubert Trim, who was the Duty Officer at the time, is in a critical state having sustained chop wounds to the head.
Prison officers Simeon Sandy, Errol Daphness, Drexel Gonsalves, Jason Maltoy and Dominic Mingo were also injured.
Meanwhile, the Guyana Police Force, in its efforts to recapture the prisoners, is appealing to members of the public, relatives and friends to give any relevant information as to the whereabouts of these escapees so that they can be captured and returned to the prison.
Also, an appeal is being made to the escapees to surrender to the police or relevant authority, to avoid any serious confrontation that is likely to result in the use of force.
All information will be treated with a high degree of confidence and also the rights of those escapees will be respected and upheld, the police said.

Heavily armed gunmen rob Cuyuni mining camps

 Jul 19, 2017  News 0 Comments

Up to press time, police ranks were in the hinterland location waiting on transportation to

Henry’s camp that was attacked.

get to Kartuni, Cuyuni River, Region Seven where it is alleged that at least six heavily armed gunmen are targeting mining camps and brutalizing the workers. This has been going on for the past five days.
Yesterday, Divisional Commander, Rabindranauth Budhram, confirmed that the report has been received and that ranks were on their way to Kartuni.
He said that there is no information as to how many camps were robbed by the bandits, who were reportedly speaking fluent Spanish and Portuguese.
There is information that the gunmen are carrying high powered guns and they reportedly took away weapons belonging to at least two onsite security guards. The men escaped with raw gold, firearm, phones and at least six tractors.
While workers have been attacked, there are no reports of fatalities. At each camp the men attack, they reportedly destroyed the communication system, making it difficult for ranks and even the owner for the camps to get information.
Sheriff Mining Company owned by Mohamed Sheriff Henry was attacked on Monday afternoon.
The gold miner told reporters the bandits escaped with his guard’s weapons and an undisclosed amount of gold after beating his workers.
Henry noted that he heard that bandits were in the area and made contact with the police at the Bartica Police Station on Friday. He said that he was informed that the ranks were already aware of the issue.
He added that on Friday, the police made contact with him and informed him that his camp had been attacked.
“I ask the police how they know and they said that one of my workers were heading to the camp when he saw what was happening and immediately went to the other camp where he called the police at the Landing,” Henry noted.
He said that he had been told that the bandits took a female cook and another woman who were at his camp hostage but when contacted, Budhram said that he had not received that information and will only divulge what had been reported to him.
“Like all the camps these men go to, they destroying the communication system so we don’t know what is happening and there is no mode of transportation to get in because they took all the tractors,” Henry said yesterday.
It is unclear when the ranks will be able to get to the backdam. This newspaper was told that they were waiting at the Guyana Gold Fields.
Reports are that the division is expecting the Guyana Defence Force to help them get in by helicopter.

‘Small Man’ busted with over 16lbs ganja at road block – court hears

 Jul 19, 2017  Court Stories, Features / Columnists, News 0 Comments

A taxi driver who was transporting a passenger to Linden was busted with over 16 pounds of marijuana hidden in compartments and in the trunk of the vehicle which was intercepted by ranks from the Customs Anti Narcotics Unit

REMANDED: Glenmore Mc Bean

(CANU).
This is according to CANU Prosecutor, Konyo Sandiford, who opposed bail being granted to alleged drug trafficker, Glenmore Mc Bean, 34, a taxi driver, of Lot 78 Wismar Housing Scheme, Linden.
Mc Bean, also known as ‘Small Man’, was arraigned before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan and denied the allegation that on July 16, last, at Soesdyke Junction, East Bank Demerara, he had 7.388 kilograms of cannabis sativa (marijuana) in his possession for the purpose of trafficking.
Prosecutor Sandiford related to the court that on July 16, CANU ranks received certain information at Beterverwagting, East Coast Demerara and as a result set up a road block at Soesdyke Junction, East Bank Demerara.
Prosecutor Sandiford said that motorcar HC 7963 which was being driven by Mc Bean was intercepted at the roadblock during which he admitted to having a bag of marijuana in the vehicle.
However, upon searching the vehicle the prosecutor said that ranks found parcels of marijuana hidden in a compartment and in the trunk of the vehicle.
Mc Bean is the registered owner of the vehicle, Sandiford disclosed.
Attorney-at-Law Bernard DaSilva who represented Mc Bean petitioned for him to be released on bail citing that special reasons arise from the circumstances under which his client was arrested.
DaSilva stated that on the day in question, Mc Bean was transporting a passenger to Linden when the car was stopped and searched and the alleged narcotics unearthed.
According to the lawyer, prior to the vehicle being stopped and searched, the passenger who was seated in the back disembarked the vehicle a few yards from the road block after receiving a phone call. DaSilva pointed out that the alleged narcotics were found in the passenger’s side compartment of the vehicle and also in the trunk.
The lawyer stated that his client should be granted pre-trial liberty since the alleged narcotics was not found in his possession but rather in the vehicle which had a passenger before it was stopped and searched.
Prosecutor Sandiford contended that Mc Bean provided CANU ranks with certain oral statements admitting that the drug was indeed in the vehicle.
But DaSilva argued that caution statements are subject to being tested by the court since the court is well aware of how they are sometimes extracted from an accused.
The Chief Magistrate refused bail for the defendant citing that no special reasons were raised by the defence to satisfy the court. Mc Bean will make another court appearance on July 13, for statements.

Note a black and a Portuguese are the crooks, not IndoGs as the slopcan crew would have us believe 

Duo charged in $85M cocaine bust

TWO Essequibo residents who were arrested following an $85M cocaine bust made by the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Coast Guard on a vessel on the Pomeroon River, were on Thursday charged.
John DaSilva, a 45-year-old farmer of Grant Strong Hope, Pomeroon and Kevin Fitz Gordon, 34, of Jim Housing Scheme, Essequibo were jointly charged with drug trafficking before Chief Magistrate, Ann McLennan.

Particulars of the charge alleged that the duo on July 17, 2017 at Pomeroon River trafficked 94.954 kilograms of cocaine. The men pleaded not guilty to the allegations. They were represented by Attorney-at-law Mark Waldron. An official of the Custom Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) explained to the court that investigation into the matter is incomplete.
The Chief Magistrate remanded the two men and transferred the matter to the Charity Magistrate’s Court for August 28, 2017.
According to reports DaSilva and Gordon were intercepted on July 17, while heading to Georgetown on a vessel but when they saw the Coast Guard boat they decided to turn around and tried to escape. A substance suspected to be cocaine was found in the vessel.
They were intercepted about four miles off the mouth of the Pomeroon River. The men, vessel and suspected narcotics were handed over to CANU officers. Gordon was previously charged and placed before the court in 2015 for the possession of 1.0854 kg of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking. He was acquitted on the charge but in June 2017 he was arrested by CANU ranks for possession of a large quantity of US currency and handed over to the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU)