– police arrest Clarke’s friend
– berated over bulletin for ‘Crack head’
One of the six men wanted in connection with last Wednesday’s attacks in the city, yesterday turned up at the Brickdam Police Station accompanied by a lawyer and the mother of another lashed out at the police for releasing photographs and other information without “stating the facts”.
The investigation intensified yesterday when vanloads of policemen converged on James Street, Albouystown and, after searching several houses, arrested a 22-year-old man for questioning about his association with one of the wanted men.
While making no mention of the arrest of 22-year-old Muammar Jabbar, police said in a press release last evening that the correct name of Trevor Archer, for whom a wanted bulletin was issued, was Troy Ellis. The 33-year-old man of Yarrowkabra, Soesdyke/Linden Highway, the release said, went to the Brickdam Police Station around 11 am accompanied by his lawyer. Up to press time last night, he was still in police custody assisting with the investigation.
Clarke called ‘Pumpkin’ or ‘Perkin’; Ellis, Colin Jones called `Bunny’; Kurt Thierens called ‘Glasses’; Shawn Benn and arson accused Keith Ferrier called `General’ are wanted for questioning in relation to murder, robbery and setting fire to public buildings on November 4.
Jones and Thierens had previously escaped from the Providence Police Station lockups shortly after they were held for questioning into the Ministry of Health Fire. The wanted bullets were issued on Tuesday night.
‘Scapegoats’
Yesterday Shawn Benn’s mother was very upset over the way police were handling the investigation when Stabroek News spoke to her.
At first, Vilma Benn berated this newspaper for carrying the photographs and bulletins about the men. But after it was explained to her that the information was provided by the police, she branded that as wrong.
“Police have no right to give the media any information without the facts. This should have never happened,” Vilma Benn stated during a heated interview in which she criticized the government while vowing to get to the bottom of the matter.
Vilma Benn, who recently arrived in the country from Canada, told this newspaper that her son is a “Crack head” and that drug addicts would not do the things her son is being implicated in.
“Why didn’t they come here?” she questioned, pointing out that the police should have never published his photograph before first attempting to locate him.
“This is wrong! Wrong! Police got to get their facts together,” she said.
This newspaper asked whether she had contacted the police to express her feelings and the woman said she will not do so because she knows she will get no satisfaction, since the police “always tell themselves they right.
“They ain’t got no right ridiculing people’s children in the newspaper without facts.”
The angry woman said that after her son’s photograph was published she began receiving numerous phone calls and she decided to come home.
This newspaper asked how the police would have gotten a photograph of Shawn Benn and his mother responded that he had been deported from Canada. She did not say for what or when.
She acknowledged that her son has always been in and out of trouble and stated that since she arrived she had not spoken to him. When this newspaper enquired if she knew where he was, she said she did not wish to speak further.
Vilma Benn said that while Guyana is her country and her home, it had now become “stink” with the things that are happening.
Stabroek News has been informed that the last information on Benn was that he was an inmate of the Camp Street prison but it is unclear if he was on remand or a convict.
Vilma Benn stated that he has a case before the court.
Friend held
Meanwhile, relatives of Charles Clarke expressed concern yesterday that his friend, Muammar Jabbar of 33 James Street, Albouystown had been arrested by the police.
Jabbar’s father Hector said last evening that police told him his son would have to be detained until today, since they are investigating a report that he was seen with a wanted man. The man said while he was not given a name for the person he suspected that it was Clarke, his son’s former schoolmate and very good friend.
“I could put me head on a block, this man [Clarke] ain’t been in this country for a long time now,” Hector said. “Clarke is a decent fellow. I don’t know where this fabrication came from.”
He said his son, too, was a hard-working man and when he was arrested he was waiting on his lunch.
Hector recalled that van loads of policemen drove into the area as if they were looking for criminals and when he attempted to ascertain why his son was held, he was cursed at and a gun pulled on him.
Jabbar’s sister who was at home at the time of the incident recounted to this newspaper that around 1.30 pm she saw lots of policemen standing on the road in front of their house.
She said she then saw a policeman in the kitchen and after finding out if she was alone and her age, he said he was going to search the house.
The young woman who did not want her name published said that the policeman did not her give a reason, but looked around before leaving.
She said policemen then went over the road to another building where her brother was sleeping and arrested him. He was later taken to the CID Headquarters, Eve Leary.
Records
Meanwhile, police said they have taken note of comments made in the media by relatives of Clarke, claiming that he has been out of the country since May this year.
“The Police Force wishes to state that a check of the records at the Central Immigration and Passport Office has revealed that Charles Clarke left Guyana on November 10, 2008, and returned to the country on March 31, 2009. There is no record of him leaving the country since his return,” the statement said.
Clarke’s relatives had told this newspaper that on Wednesday that he could not have committed the crimes as he was overseas since May. They said they could not disclose his location since “the Guyana Police Force could not be trusted”.
They said relatives were in possession of Clarke’s recent pay slips which gave an indication of his whereabouts in the Caribbean.
When contacted yesterday, however, an aunt denied saying that she was in possession of the pay slips. “I didn’t say I had them. I said that I could get them,” the woman stated before informing this newspaper that efforts to contact the young man yesterday were futile.
Clarke’s sister Merlyn confirmed that no contact was made with him but acknowledged that he is in neigbouring French Guiana where he had secured a job and had recently called his father saying that he would be returning home for Christmas.
She called on the relevant authorities to check telephone records, which would prove that the call was made from French Guiana.
Clarke’s grandmother Norma explained that they kept calling but were only getting his voicemail. She once again recounted that he had returned home around March/April from Trinidad and Tobago where he had been working in the construction industry. While here, he got word that a relative in French Guiana had some work and instead of returning to the twin island republic, he opted to go there.
According to Norma he left in May and has not been back since. Asked how she could be sure of this, the woman was adamant that if he had arrived in the country relatives and his friends would have known as he was not the type of person who would hide from them.
“He is not in need of anything. He does work hard for whatever he wants. He doesn’t have any cause to be in criminal activities,” the woman stressed.
She repeatedly stated that her grandson would not have been in this country when the attacks occurred and remained baffled as to why the police would try to link him to them.
