Royston Waldron, the robbery suspect who was shot dead by police last Friday, was under surveillance, according to Crime Chief Leslie James, who said that in addition to his links to several crimes detectives are still investigating his possible role in the disappearance of two women.
James told Stabroek News yesterday that police had received word that a crime was about to be committed and had been tracking Waldron and two accomplices, who are now in police custody. “We always do our work and we have sources that give us information,” he said.
In a statement on the shooting, police had said Waldron and his two accomplices were intercepted in a car at the corner of Alexander and Thomas streets, Kitty around 12.15 pm on Friday.
According to the police, the men were wanted for questioning in connection with a number of armed robberies. The police said that the ranks who intercepted the men were fired on and they returned fire, hitting Waldron, who 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 Waldron’s person.
There have been reports that Waldron did not open fire on the ranks and that he was shot after he would have surrendered.
James, when asked about this, said he had heard contradictory reports to those submitted by the police but noted that investigation is still in progress to determine what happened.
Waldron, who lived at Public Road, Kitty, was a former policeman and had faced charges in court.
In June, 2008, he had been charged with habouring now dead notorious criminal Rondell ‘Fineman’ Rawlins.
Waldron, who was at the time living at Friendship, East Bank Demerara, was accused of knowingly harbouring Rawlins and members of his gang at Goat Farm. He was also charged with committing an armed robbery at UNAMCO Road, in the Upper Berbice River, on June 16, 2008, for which he was later convicted.
When asked for about Waldron’s criminal background, James indicated that besides the habouring of Rawlins, he had been implicated in other serious crimes and had been under surveillance by the police. However, when asked, he was not willing to identify any specific crime.
Delay
After his death, police had indicated that Waldron was the prime suspect in the disappearance of Police Constable Patriena Nicholson and school teacher Nyozi Goodman. While Nicholson vanished without a trace, it is suspected that a decomposing body found at Turkeyen, East Coast Demerara in July may be that of Goodman.
Samples from the corpse were sent to a lab in Trinidad for DNA testing in August to confirm whether the remains are indeed those of the missing teacher.
Despite the assurances that the results would be ready in a matter of weeks, the police are yet to receive them.
James, when asked, said the results will return “very, very soon.” When asked what caused the delay of the results, James said that it was logistics.
Goodman, a 34-year-old St Stanislaus College teacher, went missing on July 6, after attending a basketball game with some of her students. Goodman was subsequently linked with Waldron, who confessed to police that he did drop her off at the game but did not return for her.
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 had been dating Waldron 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.
James stressed to this newspaper yesterday that the police are still investigating the man’s link to the two missing women. “That matter has been an active investigation and he had been one of the persons we were looking at. It’s still under investigation,” he said.
