Two weeks after investigators matched an unlicensed gun reportedly found in a Riverview, Ruimveldt house to the Courtney Crum-Ewing murder scene, no charges have been laid, raising questions as to whether ranks are struggling to build a case against the suspected triggerman they have in their custody.
Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum said the file was sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on Friday for legal advice as regards charging Regan Rodrigues called `Grey Boy’.
Though the murder weapon was found in Rodrigues’ home, there is apparently nothing to prove that it was he who pulled the trigger.
Police, acting on information, had descended on Rodrigues’ home around 6 am on July 13 but he fled when he saw the ranks and jumped into the nearby Demerara River. Ranks claim that they found an unlicensed .32 gun and 20 matching rounds of ammunition. The next day Rodrigues turned himself in and was promptly arrested. A day later he was arraigned on gun-related charges and remanded to prison.
It would appear that prior to Rodrigues making his court appearance ballistics experts tested the weapon and found that it matched spent shells found at the scene and warheads recovered from the political activist’s body.
Observers have raised a number of questions as it pertains to this case positing that the case against Rodrigues appears to be very weak. Rodrigues has denied any knowledge of the crime.
There is nothing to suggest that at the time of the find there were any other persons in the house or in the immediate area where the weapon was found.
Police had told the media that a suspect was being “intensively interviewed”. No information was given as to when the man was arrested or how but police later revealed that the man was already in police custody for gun possession when ranks made the breakthrough.
One source questioned what might have prompted the police to search Rodrigues’ home before pointing out that the man was implicated in a number of gun-related activities and hence would know better than to keep a weapon in an area where it could be found. The information given to this newspaper was that police were informed weeks before that Rodrigues had a hand in the shooting because Rodrigues matched the description of the shooter based on an eyewitness account.
Rented
Persons close to Rodrigues though have questioned the entire issue noting that Rodrigues would have had to be stupid to keep a murder weapon in his home.
One security official told Stabroek News that it is possible that the weapon was a rented one and that Rodrigues could have been unaware that it was used in the Crum-Ewing murder. “It must be understood that guns change many hands in the criminal world… and this might have been what happened in this case,” the source said before asking “Why would a killer keep a murder weapon in his home months after the crime was committed?”
Crum-Ewing was gunned down on March 10 in Diamond, East Bank Demerara as he walked along a poorly lit street urging residents to head to the polls to vote the PPP/C government out of office. The murder weapon was reportedly found in Rodrigues’ home on July 16, just over four months later.
A confession or a positive identification of Rodrigues is what the police need at this point to tie the suspect to the crime.
The previous government had vowed that it would leave no stone unturned in finding those responsible for the killing. The current government is now under pressure to ensure that there is closure in this matter. Police have recently said that investigators are working with a theory that the killing was politically motivated. At least two political officials have been questioned.
The man’s mother Donna Harcourt had told Stabroek News in the days after the killing that the father of three had been threatened by two senior officials of the PPP and that a report was made at the Brickdam Police Station. There is nothing to suggest that these persons have been questioned as part of the initial investigation. The PPP has since denied any role in the killing.
Shortly after taking office Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan had told Stabroek News that the case would be looked at. Following the revelation of Rodrigues being in custody, the minister had expressed confidence that the case will be solved based on the information provided to him by the Crime Chief.
One police official said investigators are in no rush and are just trying to tie up all the loose ends. They are also trying to get all the major players before they think about laying charges.
“You must understand, we are in no rush. It is all about making sure we have an airtight case and as many of those involved as possible,” the source said while adding, “Rodrigues is on remand. He ain’t going nowhere.”
In addition to Rodrigues, police have questioned three other persons one of whom is a former bodyguard to former attorney general Anil Nandlall. The man, Rajput Narine, however was released days later without reportedly being questioned about the Crum-Ewing murder. Instead there was a confrontation between him and Rodrigues where accusations surrounding a plot to kill politician/activist Mark Benschop and subsequently an unidentified person, were made.
Narine, who has since gone into hiding, had professed his innocence saying he knew nothing about a plot to kill Benschop and more so the Crum-Ewing murder.
Since questioning Rodrigues, police have released every little information to the media about the investigation. Besides the two men, Blanhum had said that during the course of last week two other persons were questioned; they were not arrested.
Police had said that a car with four men drove up and discharged shots at Crum-Ewing and then drove off. However, there is still uncertainty as to how many persons and vehicles were involved. Crum-Ewing was shot five times, including three times to the head. Footage captured by several security cameras in the area was useless to investigators.
In the initial stages of the investigation, about eight persons had been arrested by the police but they were all subsequently released. Police had also detained a car suspected to have been used by the killers.
