A suspect in two recent armed robberies committed on persons coming from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri has been identified and is being sought according to Crime Chief Seelall Persaud who noted that the force is paying a lot of attention to this situation as it can create fear.
Persaud told Stabroek News that the robberies were committed about 35 minutes apart on Saturday evening and that both victims arrived in Guyana on the same flight from New York.
He said the first attack was committed on Nicola Nedd at West Ruimveldt around 3.15 am. According to Persaud, the woman arrived at her destination in a taxi. He said that as she was taking her luggage into the house two men, one of whom was armed with a hand gun attacked her. The robbers, he said, escaped with a shoulder bag containing jewellery and US$500.
Around 3.50 am, Persaud said, three men, one of whom was armed with a gun, attacked Bonita Charles at a Tucville address. He said the woman’s partner had earlier picked her up at the airport and while they were walking into the yard they were met by the trio who was hiding inside. The other two perpetrators were armed with a knife and cutlass respectively.
Charles’s partner’s name was given as Jermaine D’Andrade, 32 and Stabroek News was informed that he was stabbed during the incident and later admitted to Georgetown Hospital. He was subsequently discharged.
The crime chief said that based on investigations, the possibility existed that the robberies were committed by the same people. He explained that investigators are looking for a man who was convicted of gun-related robberies. He said the man subsequently appealed his conviction and managed to secure bail.
Persaud said that while there are not many airport-related robberies, the force pays a lot of attention to these cases whenever they occur since they tend to create fear among persons visiting here.
Last April, Rawle Alleyne called ‘Fineman’, 31, of Second Street, Cummings Lodge, ECD; Rawle Elliott, 25, of Bagotville, WBD; and Ronald Kissoon, 27, of James Street, Albouystown, Georgetown, were charged with 10 counts of robbery under arms.
The robberies were committed on several persons who were attacked and robbed as they arrived at their destinations in Georgetown and on the East Coast Demerara after having travelled from the airport.
The men were placed on $450, 000 bail each when they appeared before Magistrate Allan Wilson at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.
Back then Persaud had said that persons needed to be security conscious. He had blamed such occurrences on “reckless talking” by relatives.
Several similar robberies were committed during 2011.
