A Diamond, East Bank Demerara (EBD) resident who police said was a known robber was fatally shot after he attempted to rob a policeman at Soesdyke, EBD last evening.
Dead is Ryan Couchman, 34, of Lot 1360 18th Street, Diamond. In a statement, the police said that investigations are being conducted into an incident that occurred at about 7pm yesterday in which an armed policeman in plain clothes was attacked and robbed of his gold jewellery by three men at Soesdyke.
“During the robbery the policeman, who was being repeatedly assaulted by the perpetrators, discharged a round which fatally wounded one of the men” who has since been identified as Couchman, the police said. The two accomplices managed to escape.
The statement said that the injured policeman is receiving medical treatment at the Diamond Diagnostic Centre. According to the statement, Couchman is known to the police and has been previously charged on a number of occasions for robbery under arms.
Stabroek News was told that Couchman sustained a gunshot wound to his chest and was pronounced dead on arrival at the Diamond Diagnostic Centre.
According to his wife, Natasha Couchman, she received a call from someone who informed her that her husband was shot and she immediately rushed to the hospital. Upon her arrival, she was told that her husband was already dead.
Natasha said that she was not with her husband at the time of the shooting but from what she was told, he along with some other friends were at the creek during the day and on their way back home, they decided to stop and take a drink after which tragedy stuck.
“They went up the creek and on them way down back they stop at Soesdyke junction to take a drink and I hear the bai fire four shots to him but only one hit he direct to he chest,” she said while adding that she was still unaware of the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
Meanwhile, a source told Stabroek News that Couchman was shot dead after he along with two other men lashed a man, who is said to be a police officer, to his face and relieved him of a gold chain which he was wearing at the time.
Stabroek News was told that Couchman along with his accomplices tried to made good their escape but the man started to fire shots, one of which caught the now dead Couchman to the left side of his chest. The two other accomplices escaped.
Couchman leaves to mourn two children, ages 14 and three.
In 2008, then twenty-eight-year-old Couchman was not required to plead to two indictable counts of robbery under arms.
It was alleged that on July 9 at Thomas Street, Couchman used a gun to rob Assif Bacchus of a quantity of Guyana and US currency and a cell phone, all to the value of $473,000.
It is also alleged that on the same day and place, Couchman used a gun to rob Jovia Rahaman of $1.7M.
Last January, Couchman, pleaded not guilty when the charge of discharging a firearm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm was read to him in the court of Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry. The intended victim of the alleged attack was Jared Hamilton, a former employee of the defendant.
