Two men who were being sought in relation to the gunning down of local fashion designer Trevor Rose were arrested over the weekend, Crime Chief Seelall Persaud said yesterday.
Contacted for an update, he said that the men were arrested on Saturday and are currently assisting the police with their investigations. He had told this newspaper previously that two persons were being sought and that two lines of inquiry were being pursued in relation to the motive for the murder.
Asked about the ballistics tests on the 9 mm gun with matching rounds and .45 spent shells recovered from the scene of the shooting, he said he was yet to receive the report.
The shooting occurred around 5 am on January 26 on the Eccles Access Road, East Bank Demerara. Reports are that Rose and a female companion, Latoya Towler, were heading to the woman’s Eccles home when the shooting occurred. They were passengers in a car driven by Troy Nieuenkerk. According to the police, Nieuenkerk was driving his car when another vehicle drove up alongside and the driver accosted him about how he was driving. “An argument ensued during which the driver of the other vehicle came out with a firearm and discharged a number of rounds at Nieuenkerk and the other persons in his vehicle after which the perpetrator escaped,” the police said.
The police further stated that Rose was hit about his body and was pronounced dead on arrival at the Georgetown Hospital. The police said that a 9 mm pistol and 19 matching rounds were recovered at the scene.
A post-mortem examination later revealed that Rose was shot five times. Towler was hit once in the buttocks by what is believed to have been a bullet intended for Rose while Nieuenkerk was struck in the left shoulder.
While persons close to the father of eight have said they know of no reason why anyone would want him dead, it was clear that Rose was the target and that the shooter pretended to have an issue with the driver to get close to him.
Nieuenkerk, in an interview with Stabroek News, had said that Rose operated as though he knew the gunman and had ordered him to reverse the car when the altercation occurred. He had recalled that the driver of the other car came up to his side and asked him why he was driving so recklessly. Nieuenkerk, in response, said that he wasn’t and it was at that point that Rose urged him to reverse.
According to Nieuenkerk, before he could respond, the man pulled out a gun and shot him in the shoulder. This, he said, prevented him from reversing and shortly after that the gunman began firing bullets at Rose. He said that Towler was struck by a stray bullet during the shooting. After firing several shots, he said, the gunman got into his car and drove off. He recalled that after the gunman drove off he tried stopping passing vehicles to get help but no one stopped. He then made the decision to drive straight to the Georgetown Hospital despite the wound to his shoulder.
The gunman escaped in a heavily tinted vehicle. It is unclear if there was anyone else in the vehicle.
