Two juveniles are expected to be charged today for the assault on 10 year-old Shaquille Sears, Alex Parks, and Conroy Washington, which occurred at Independence Street, La Grange last Wednesday.
A source close to the investigation told Stabroek News that the two youths were from La Grange and they are expected to make an appearance at the Wales Magistrate’s Court sometime today. The source indicated that the youths were positively identified by Parks on Tuesday after they were arrested.
So far, another man has been charged with the assault which occurred on May 27 while Sears, Parks and Washington were catching birds in the street. The three young men were beaten with cutlasses and pieces of wood, stripped of their clothing and forced to sit on ants’ nests.
Parks was yesterday taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital for a third time after he started complaining about severe headaches. His mother Alexis Elliot stated that he has not eaten since the attack and remains traumatized by the whole ordeal.
The young men were beaten by a group of vigilantes, who accused them of robbing and murdering an elderly woman in the village.
Sears was also taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital on Saturday afternoon by his mother after he too started experiencing intense headaches. His mother, Marlin Sears, stated that the young boy has lost hearing in one of his ears and was experiencing shortness of breath. She said her son was stamped on his chest and back by the vigilante group.
“I don’t know what to say…if those people didn’t stop them then they would have killed my son and my family. All three of those boys are family. We live in the same yard,” she lamented.
She said her son informed her that he was dragged and beaten along the way with bicycle wheels, cutlasses and wood. She said her son was the first of the three to escape the beating when a man rescued him and carried him to La Grange Police Station. She stated that the other two young men were taken to the West Demerara Regional Hospital for treatment.
Washington, 24, had told Stabroek News that they were catching birds in the area when the incident occurred. He said that the beating stopped only after one of the men told the group that they had beaten them enough. He stated that they were subsequently taken to La Grange Police Station.
Statements were taken from the three victims along with their medical reports.
According to reports, this was not the first time a beating of this nature had occurred at the hands of the group, but this one was described as the most brutal.
