Two Corentyne families on Saturday recounted the terror of a ten-minute gunpoint robbery during which two women had to hand over jewellery and an 18-year-old man was shot in his face with pellets.
On Friday night, armed, masked men descended on two houses in Bush Lot and as they escaped they fired pellets at Dorwin Lord, 18. He had to be hospitalised
Police in a statement on Saturday said, “At about 2020h. last night Friday July 03, 2015, four men armed with firearms entered a house at Bush Lot, Corentyne, and held up the occupants Valerie Williams, Rose Raphael, Bibi December and Shameer December and took away a total of $100,000.00 and a quantity of jewellery.
“As the perpetrators were leaving the home they accosted Dorwin Lord, 18 years, who was entering the premises, and discharged a cartridge in his direction and escaped. Dorwin Lord was hit by pellets to his face and has been admitted to hospital.”
Norbert Raphael, a victim of the robbery who resides in one of the houses in the same yard, told this newspaper that his nephew had gone to the washroom when the bandits pounced on him. He said that they heard a scream and his sister Rose Raphael went and checked to see what was wrong with his nephew. Seconds later, Raphael said he heard his sister exclaiming “Oh Jesus Christ!”. At that point, he said they didn’t suspect it was a robbery. However, when he peered through the window the gunmen fired a round and he ducked.
Raphael said he hurried to lock the doors but he was seconds too late as one of the armed men had already entered. Two men entered first and then another came in as he escorted Rose into the home and instructed the family to hand over cash and jewellery. The bandits were told that the family did not have any cash or jewellery. The bandits went to Valerie Williams, a niece of Raphael and demanded that she hand over the three gold rings she was wearing at the time. Scared for her life with a gun pointing at their heads, she took off the rings and was handing them over to the men when one fell. The men ordered her to search for it or they said they would shoot her. Eventually the ring was found and she handed it over, Raphael recalled. The men also ransacked a bedroom but came up empty- handed and threatened Rose that they would kill her son if she did not produce the valuables.
“They asked where the $3 million deh and meh sister ask what kind of $3 million and they asked where the foreigner that come but we didn’t answer”, Raphael said.
After the bandits got no response from the family they rushed out of the house and headed over to the house of Bibi December, the overseas visitor.
December, 56, who is vacationing with her son recalled the incident to this newspaper. Still shuddering from the attack, she said that “minutes to 8 I heard a noise and thought it was a (squib) but then I say is nah holiday and I ask my grandson who was sitting on the verandah if he heard anything and he tell me it sound like a tyre blow off”.
The woman added that she was going to call her neighbours – the earlier victims of the robbery at the back to see if they had heard anything. But as she opened the kitchen window, she said she saw the woman from the other house walking down the stairs and heard noises. As she was looking out of the window she saw a man armed with a “long gun” walking up her stairs and pointing the gun. He instructed her to open the door or he would shoot.
December said that she complied with the commands of the gunman and opened the door as she was afraid of losing her life.
Using a series of expletives, after the door was opened, three of the bandits demanded cash and jewellery. “After they ask, I said okay I will give you all the money and jewellery, but it would take time because I would have to use soap to take it off”, the victim told Stabroek News. She added that as one of the bandits waited for her eight gold rings, three pairs of bangles, a chain, two hand bands and a pair of earrings, the two others ran into the room and began to ransack it, as they searched for more valuables. The woman said that the bandits found $110,000 that was supposed to be used to pay her lawyer and three other pairs of gold bangles in a bedroom and escaped with them.
December recalled that she pleaded with the men not to take her wedding band but one of the bandits who was masked with a stocking told her they would chop her finger off if she didn’t hand it over. The fearful woman related that she gave the men the ring and pleaded for her life and her grandson’s.
After committing the robberies on the two households, the men were about to escape when Rose’s son Dorwin Lord arrived from church. As he walked into the yard the gunmen fired at him. He dodged but was still hit in the face with pellets.
The victims said that the men entered and escaped through the yard’s rear fence. The bandits before gaining entry to the premises had cut a hole in the mesh fence. During the ordeal over ten shots were fired in an effort to scare off any help. The victims said all six of the men were armed with guns and some had knives.
On Tuesday last, a gang of ten men robbed a Corentyne family at John’s Village of millions of dollars in cash, jewellery and other items.
The APNU+AFC administration has faced growing calls to take effective measures against a surge of robberies and other crimes in recent weeks.
