Hours after Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan urged Shawn Hinds to go to the police, the self-confessed death squad member turned himself in with his attorney and though he remained in custody up to press time, he was not saying anything, police said.
Hinds, just after midday, turned up at CID headquarters, Eve Leary with lawyer Nigel Hughes and was immediately taken into custody. Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum had confirmed that Hinds was arrested and that he was being interviewed by investigators.
However, police in a press release issued last night, said that Hinds was not cooperating.
The release said that a number of questions had been put to him in the presence of his lawyer and his consistent response has been that he has nothing to say, based on advice of his lawyer.
Stabroek News was told that ranks were questioning Hinds about his admission during a televised interview that he was involved in a death squad that was responsible for the murders of criminals during the crime spree that gripped the country after the 2002 Mash Day jailbreak. Although Hinds was previously wanted for a “serious offence,” a source said it is not a matter of priority for investigators given the gravity of his admissions about his involvement in death squad activity, in which he has also implicated police.
While openly admitting his involvement in the underworld, Hinds during a recent interview with HPGTV Nightly News revealed that, he had gone to CID headquarters to collect weapons for use by members of the death squad and also that police were responsible for the killing of political activist Ronald Waddell.
Hinds has not admitted that he had killed anyone and has skirted around the issue, saying that he was a member of a death squad that went after criminals. He spoke of at least one case—Waddell—in which he was hired to execute somebody but was beaten to the task.
Hinds had decided to go to the newscast over fears that efforts were afoot to frame him for the murder of political activist Courtney Crum-Ewing, who was gunned down on March 10, in Diamond, where he was urging persons to go to the polls to ensure that the PPP/C was removed from office.
Police recently held two persons in connection with his death; one is the suspected triggerman and the other is suspected to be the person who hired the hitman.
Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo last weekend disclosed that he had reported to the police that an individual matching Hinds’ description was spotted in a “strange car” parked outside his home about two weeks prior.
No deals
Meanwhile, speaking to reporters yesterday at the National Rice Conference at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre, Ramjattan made it clear that government will be using its discretion but for now will not be granting amnesty to Hinds.
“Of course, we are going to use our discretion so that we can get as much information as possible but at this stage we are not gonna grant amnesty… Nobody is gonna have a free lunch in this country… And if he did what he did and now he wants to bring it out, well fine. But the trouble is let him come and we will decide that later,” he stressed.
Ramjattan added that there will be “nothing in it” for Hinds. “What’s gotta be there for him? He is helping… so, if he murders, we should help him to get off of that?” he inquired.
Asked if there is a possibility of a plea bargain agreement, Ramjattan told reporters that the law allows for such a deal but it was not his decision to make. “I am not going to say at this stage because it is not within the discretion of the minister. I think it is the Director of Public Prosecutions. She will make that decision,” he said.
In urging Hinds to turn himself in, he said Hinds is being called in “for purposes of ensuring that what he has to say will be recorded officially…and I hope that he goes.” He insisted that the government would like to see Hinds give an official statement and also be “questioned and interviewed thoroughly about everything that he knows.”
Ramjattan told reporters that it is not best to just give a TV interview. “It is always to give a police interview and I emphasise that… that is what I have been saying, let him come forward and give that kind of statement. It would be a very comprehensive statement,” he added.
Former Speaker Ralph Ramkarran, writing on his Conversation Tree blog over the weekend, said that the administration’s rejection of an amnesty—voiced by State Minister Joseph Harmon—before a request was made constituted its interference in “the process of criminal investigation, in the prosecutorial process and in the pursuit of justice because it sends a message to the concerned agencies which need to work without oppressive messages of this kind.”
He said the pursuit of justice is a matter for professionals, including police, prosecutors, defence counsel, judges and juries who are armed with an array of tools and are required to work without government interference.
“Hinds is seen as a criminal by the government, and is an unlikely hero, but one section of the population may well view him as a saviour in a difficult time,” he wrote, while adding that the truth about an era of full-blown criminal terrorism and warfare, with political underpinnings, is available through Hinds and others members of the death squad.