The serial arsonist who terrorized a Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice family was finally arrested last evening; he sustained a shot to his hand in the process.
Police received reports that the man was staying at a house at Bush Lot and swooped down on the premises around 6pm.
When the police approached, the man made a dash through a cash crop farm in an escape bid but could not outrun the police due to an injured foot.
Residents told Stabroek News that the police fired four shots in his direction and one reportedly grazed his hand. He is likely to face charges soon.
Pulmattie ‘Veera’ Etwaru, 66, told this newspaper that the man kept pelting her house on Tuesday night, preventing them from resting.
He was also “lashing a cutlass” on the street and calling them out to fight. She said the police responded but as usual, he escaped when they arrived. As soon as they left he returned and continued to make their lives miserable.
The man is the ex-husband of Etwaru’s daughter, 42-year-old Seeta Persaud. He is also accused of burning down Persaud’s Bath Experiment Scheme, West Coast Berbice home on May 28 and, before that, in 2009.
He was being sought by the police for the May 28 fire and was also wanted for threatening Persaud and her family, and for intruding on their premises.
Just before midnight on June 13, the man also tried to set fire to Pulmattie’s house but Persaud’s current partner, Nawaz Chaseem managed to put the fire out. The kitchen in the lower flat was badly scorched.
Pulmattie’s husband Malcolm Etwaru subsequently found a jar containing gasoline, with a hose and funnel attached to a bucket close to the front door.
The hose and a piece of rolled up newspaper were pushed under the door and a cigarette lighter was nearby.
The couple was afraid for their lives and took turns keeping watch at nights. Last evening they were relieved after he was finally caught.