The bandit who was fatally shot by police on Friday at Dundee, Mahaicony, has been identified as 28-year-old Delon Hawker of Alness, Corentyne who, according to relatives, was on his way to Georgetown to secure an identification card.
The man’s body was identified by his mother Rhonda Hawker, a policewoman stationed at the Albion Police Station, at the Lyken Funeral home yesterday morning. “Me does read in the papers how police shoot people and I does wonder how dem mothers feel but I never know I would go through it one day. Ow me belly bottom burning, ow a feel like ah going mad this can’t be true…” the woman cried as she held on to her chest.
At that point, she had not visited the Mahaicony Police Station and said that the only information she had was what she read in the newspapers.
Hawker, according to his reputed wife Stacy, left their home at around 8 am on Friday for the city. The shooting occurred at around 1pm on Friday.
Police in a press release had stated that officers from the Mahaicony Police Station had responded to a report of robbery committed on the home of Veerapen and Gangawatti Jebode. The release said that during the investigations, the ranks came under fire from two men who were in the area and the lawmen returned fire and one of the men was fatally shot, while the other escaped into the backlands.
The two had allegedly robbed the couple, who live at Good Faith, Mahaicony, and escaped with over $1 million in jewellery and a small amount of cash, a cellular phone and other articles.
Gangawatti and a neighbour boarded a minibus with the bandits and were at the next village-Dundee Mahaicony-when they saw the police vehicle approaching and shouted for the driver to stop.
Residents said when the vehicle stopped, the bandits jumped out and started to run and the police opened fire on them and one collapsed and died while the other escaped. A .32 snub-nose revolver and a 9mm. pistol were recovered on the scene. A bag containing a pair of binoculars, a cell phone and a cap were also found. Gangawattie also recognized some of her personal items in the bandits’ bag, including cosmetics, clothing and a roll of scotch tape.
“My God I know I don’t have justice to get from man but I am hoping someday that God would give me justice,” Hawker’s mother said sorrowfully yesterday as she stood in front of the Lykens Funeral Home. She said her son was a loving and caring young man who jumped to her assistance if she just said she was suffering from a headache.
“This boy was so loving that I don’t know how on earth could I ever forget my son…,” she cried. The last time Rhonda spoke to her son was Thursday night and while she was not on the scene, the woman said that she does not believe her son robbed anyone. She insisted that while Delon may have been a passenger in the bus he was never involved in robbing anyone.
Asked if her son was ever involved in any illegal activities, the woman said that the young man, who was reportedly a farmer in the Canje Creek area, had a police matter involving marijuana and a gun. “But never any thieving story…” she said. “My son if he want to thief he wouldn’t leff on the Corentyne to come and thief at a place where he don’t know, he wouldn’t leff the Corentyne and thief at a place like Dundee, Mahaicony that he didn’t know…”
According to the two women, Delon wanted his identification card because he was in the process of seeking a driver’s licence. “I know something been wrong because he does always call…” Stacy said weeping bitterly even as she recalled that the young man did not return home on Friday night.
Rhonda said that she read of the shooting incident on Saturday morning but it never crossed her mind that her son was involved even as she was trying to get in contact with him. She heard of the incident and decided to check the mortuary and hospitals and at Mahaicony, she was advised to check at the mortuary. “If you see how my big strong son just lie down dead, I can’t believe he dead, ah tell you ah can’t believe it,” the woman said of the eldest of her eight children.
