Crime Chief Seelall Persaud this morning confirmed that the two policemen who went missing after leaving the Kato Police Station, Region Eight were brutally murdered.
Confirmed dead are Constables Marlon Letlow, 34, of Number 28 Village, West Coast Berbice and Leadon Aaron, 25, of Coldingen, East Coast Demerara.
The crime chief told this newspaper that when police ranks recovered the bodies at Itcherak, Middle Mazaruni some time yesterday, Aaron was strapped to a burnt tree truck. One of his feet was the only part of his body that was not burnt.
Persaud said Letlow had bullet wounds. “He sustained multiple shots from a shotgun. He was shot in the back and appeared to have been running.”
He said investigators have received information that the village captain of the area recovered the policemen’s All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) and a rifle and was to hand them over to the police. He noted that the circumstances surrounding the death of the ranks are unclear at the moment.
The team that flew to the area yesterday and the bodies are on their way to the city.
The police had said in a brief press release yesterday that investigations were being conducted into a report that on Sunday two police Constables left the Kato Police Station on an ATV on patrol duties and had not been heard from since.
According to the release, information has also been received that the ATV has been seen, “apparently with the headlamps on”, along a trail in mountainous terrain in the Paramakatoi area, North Pakaraimas.
Police investigators had been dispatched to the area, the release had said.
Communication between Kato and the E&F Headquarters is done via radio set.
The officer said that ranks in Georgetown got the first news that something was not right around mid yesterday morning. He said that according to the information received, a Brazilian man was passing the area on Tuesday night when he spotted the ATV lying “turtle and the lights still on”. The man also reported to the police that he also noticed some blood on the vehicle.
Relatives of ranks were in disbelief as news of their deaths reached them.
A relative of Letlow told this newspaper that according to the information they received, the ranks were responding to a report when they were fired upon and were fatally wounded. She said that she received the first news of the deaths around 4.30 pm. Another relative, she said, was on his way to the scene to ascertain what exactly had transpired.
Letlow’s aunt Samantha Allen said that they received information that he was missing and thereafter got conflicting information. Allen stated that relatives made contact with the E&F Division but got sketchy details. However about 20 minutes later she said a rank called to offer condolences and to inform them that both bodies had been found.
She said that initially they were told that the duo died by accident but they were later told that it was not an accident.
Letlow was in the Force for six years and was only sent to Kato six weeks ago. He was sent to the interior in July and would have been posted at at least one other location before Kato.
He leaves to mourn a three-year-old son.
Bartica
Relatives confirmed that in 2010 he was among four persons accused of aiding and abetting in the murder of Bartica gold dealers Jainarine Raghubir and Ramdeo Deonarine. The case against him was dismissed in July this year and thereafter Letlow was posted to the interior. Ironically, he was represented by attorney at law Vic Puran who died on Monday night after his vehicle veered off the road and ended up in a canal at Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara.
According to Stabroek News’ records, on September 20 Letlow, who was at the time attached to the Tactical Services Unit (TSU) and stationed at Bartica made his first court appearance. It was alleged that he tried to blackmail murder accused Rawle Newton, after receiving stolen goods belonging to the dead men. In February, 2011 the charge was withdrawn and he was then jointly charged with one of the conspirators in relation to the same incident.
Meanwhile, Aaron’s relatives last night expressed disappointment that the police official did not inform them that he was missing let alone dead. Speaking at their Coldingen home, they had said that it was friends who called to say that he was missing.
His mother, Bernadette was looking forward to seeing him next week when he was expected to return home for his sister’s birthday celebration. The distraught woman told Stabroek News that since her return from overseas about two weeks ago she had not seen the eldest of her four children.
The woman said that Aaron had lived in Trinidad and when he returned here several years ago he immediately signed up to join the police force since it was something that he always wanted to do.
An aunt, Patricia Provi-dence was the last relative to make contact with Aaron. She recalled that sometime during the morning hours on Sunday they chatted via Blackberry Messenger. He even sent her a picture with him standing in front of an ATV. She said that later she was unable to make contact with him but assumed that he was out of range and was not getting a signal.
His brother Sheldon Jr said that they received a telephone call earlier in the day that he was murdered along with a colleague.
Sheldon recalled speaking with his brother several days ago and at the time he was exhausted. He recalled that Aaron told him that he had just returned from duty in the “swamp”.
He was dispatched to that area shortly after leaving training school just over two years ago. According to Sheldon, his brother had once expressed fear about working in the interior area and often complained that the area was very challenging to work in.
Aaron also leaves to mourn his father Sheldon Snr.
