Royston Waldron, the prime suspect in the disappearance of two women, died yesterday after he was wounded in a shootout with lawmen, police said.
Waldron, 38, of Public Road, Kitty, was one of three robbery suspects who were intercepted in a car at the corner of Alexander and Thomas streets, Kitty, the Guyana Police Force said in a statement on the shooting, which occurred at around 12:15pm.
According to the statement, the men were wanted for questioning in connection with a number of armed robberies. However, police say the ranks who intercepted the men were fired on and they returned fire, hitting Waldron. He was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH), where he succumbed while receiving treatment.
Police said an unlicensed .32 pistol with four rounds and a spent shell were recovered on him.
The other two men were arrested, police added.
Neighbors were surprised upon learning the news of Waldron’s death. “He was a quiet person, I can’t believe that,” one woman said. An acquaintance also said that Waldron was a quiet person, who was well known for gambling.
The dead man’s mother, in tears, said that she didn’t know what had transpired. “I have no information,” the woman said, before adding that Waldron took her and her granddaughter to work yesterday morning. “He came and eat and I give him five thousand dollars,” she recalled.
The distraught woman said that she is not accusing or blaming anyone for anything. “The world is round and what goes around, comes around,” she added.
Stabroek News learnt that Waldron was once a resident of Sophia, who moved out after his common-law wife had died. He is said to have a child who lives with his parents. He had been a taxi driver.
Meanwhile, the police noted that Waldron had been convicted for armed robbery was the prime suspect in the disappearance Police Constable Patriena Nicholson and school teacher Nyozi Goodman.
Nicholson, 38, of Austin Street, Campbellville went missing in 2013. She was last seen at the Republic Bank ATM at the Kitty GuyOil Gas Station.
According to reports, Nicholson was dating the man for a few years before things went sour and she ended it. Nicholson had complained to relatives that the man was abusive toward her and did not want to leave her alone. She had moved on with another relationship but shortly after that she disappeared.
A St. Stanislaus College teacher, Goodman, 34, went missing on July 6, after attending a basketball game with some of her students. Goodman has since been linked with Waldron, who confessed to police that he dropped her off at the on the Sunday afternoon when she disappeared. Police are still awaiting the results of a DNA analysis of samples taken from a decomposed body that was later found and suspected to be that of Goodman.
