A 38-year-old man who was shot in the left leg early yesterday morning when he allegedly attempted to steal private property is currently a patient at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH).
Wayne Rogers, also known as Wayne Sutherland, of Stevedore Housing Scheme, Georgetown was rushed to the hospital around 1.15 am yesterday. The hospital in a press statement said Rogers arrived at the Accident and Emer-gency Room with a gunshot wound to the left leg. He was in stable condition up to early last evening.
The man was admitted to the hospital’s Male Surgical Ward. However, when Stabroek News visited the institution shortly after 12 pm yesterday sources there reported that Rogers was in theatre having the bullet removed from his leg. This newspaper was unable to locate the injured man during a second visit to the ward at 4 pm.
Crime Chief Seelal Persaud told Stabroek News that he was not aware of the matter. However, a senior police source reported that Rogers was shot early yesterday morning when he attempted to steal items from a private property. It is not clear where the shooting occurred or whether Rogers was shot by a licensed firearm holder. The police source said Rogers had not been wounded by the police.
Meanwhile, when Stabroek News visited the home of close relatives of Rogers they were surprised to hear that the man was in the hospital. They said that Rogers grew up in the area but they hadn’t seen him since last year.
“It’s only now I’m finding out that he’s in the hospital and I am surprised at that. But I am not surprised that he is in a problem like this yet again,” one of the man’s relatives said. “He [Rogers] always in and out of jail and he has been chopped, beaten and wounded many other times when he tried to steal from people.”
Roger’s relatives further said that as far as they knew the man had only recently been released from prison. Other persons around the area alleged that the man was a drug addict and a known petty thief who always had brushes with the law.
On March 20, 2007 Rogers had pleaded guilty to robbery with violence and escaping from lawful custody when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court before Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson.
