Hours after a wounded miner fatally shot another with an unlicensed firearm he was discovered a short distance from the Kurupung scene and police are confident that they have enough to charge him with the capital offence.
Commander of Police E&F Division David Ramnarine, during a telephone interview yesterday afternoon, said he is sure they have managed to build a strong enough case against the accused for the murder of miner, Rawle Mentore.
Mentore, 30, of Stanleytown, West Bank Demerara (WBD), police reported in a press statement yesterday, was shot at about 1.30 pm on Friday at Takuba Trail, Kurupung. Police Public Relations Officer Ivelaw Whittaker was unavailable for comment as to why details of the incident were not released earlier.
Investigations, the release said, revealed that Mentore was involved in an argument with another miner during which it is alleged that both men chopped each other about the body. It was during this violent confrontation, police said, the suspect pulled out an unlicensed firearm and shot Mentore who succumbed to his injuries.
The suspect was later found lying along the trail some distance away bleeding from wounds he reportedly sustained during the confrontation with Mentore. He was taken into police custody and transported to the Kurupung Medical Centre where he was treated. The unlicensed .38 Taurus revolver, which was used to wound Mentore, along with forty-nine matching rounds were recovered by police.
Stabroek News has since learnt from the E&F Commander than the suspect and Mentore’s body were flown to the city on Saturday. The suspect remains in custody and the 72-hours during which police can detain him without instituting charges will end some time today.
Ramnarine, who led a team to Takuba Trail on Friday, said that it was a “passer-by” who informed police of the bloody scene. The matter was reported to the Kurupung Police Station, he explained, but it took police some time to access the area. It takes 30 minutes of hard travelling over muddy, slushy land, Ramnarine said, using an ATV (All Terrain Vehicle) to get from the police station to the trail where the incident occurred.
The station, according to Ramnarine, does not own an ATV and it was a kind citizen who lent police their transportation to make the journey. When such crimes occur, the commander said, it is difficult for police to access the scenes in as efficient a manner as is expected.
They are often at the mercy of “kind-hearted citizens” since they do not have their own resources.
When they arrived at the scene, Ramnarine recalled, the suspect was found bracing against a tree in a weakened state. The suspect, he said, had lost blood from the wounds he sustained and was in much pain.
Questioned about whether police were able to obtain a confession from the suspect Ramnarine explained that because of legal reasons it was not something he was at liberty to either deny or confirm. However, he again reiterated that police had a strong case against the man.
While responding to further questions asked by Stabroek News Ramnarine said that as far as he was aware the suspect was not wanted by police for any crimes committed in his division recently.
There is a high presence of illegal firearms in these remote locations and police, Ramnarine insisted, are doing all within their power to control the situation. It is very difficult to fight crime in these areas because of the area’s geography, he said. Soesdyke/Linden Highway, Linden and Kwakwani make up the E&F Division.
“In the interior the lure of gold and precious metals has made men in these areas very violent and desperate to get the things they want,” Ramnarine stated.
Communication in such areas, Ramnarine also said, proves to be another difficult task. Most times, he said, mobile phones do not get service and officers are forced to hike unreasonable distances and seek higher ground to get some signal. Therefore, Ramnarine reasoned that it would’ve taken some time for word of what had happened at Takuba Trail to reach Police Headquarters in the city.
Meanwhile, repeated efforts made to contact Mentore’s relatives were futile. Mentore’s body is currently at the Lyken’s Funeral Parlour and sources there said his relatives informed them that the deceased was originally from an interior location and they intend to perform his last rites there.
In their press release police only provided the name of the WBD village of Stanleytown. No street name or lot number were given and when this newspaper visited the location residents from Church Street and other locations in the village visited randomly said that they did not know Mentore or of any family in the area who’d lost a loved one under such circumstances.
