The police are currently pursuing a suspect in relation to the murder of Stanley Lovell, who was gunned down near Bourda market on Saturday, Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum says.
Blanhum told Stabroek News yesterday that the suspect is a known character and was previously arrested over execution-style killings. After the incident, the police had obtained CCTV footage which captured the incident and were following some leads up to Monday.
Lovell called ‘Steve’, 30, a car rental agent of Lot 64 Prashad Nagar, was shot 13 times as he sat on the hood of his car at Regent and Bourda streets around 3 am on Saturday. He appeared to be the intended victim of the gunman, who used a high-powered weapon to carry out the act and then fled in a waiting vehicle. His friend, Anthony Lall, 21, a cleaner of Bent Street, Wortmanville, Georgetown, was shot once to his left leg in the attack. He was treated and discharged from a hospital.
Lovell was known to police as he was charged in 2008 with the murder of University of Guyana student Dennis Edghill.
A police statement on the incident stated that Lall was said to be standing next to Lovell at the time of the shooting.
Stabroek News was previously told that Lovell and his friends, including Lall, had earlier left a popular nightspot in the city. It is believed that they were trailed from the nightspot to Bourda Market, where they stopped to purchase breakfast.
A friend went into the market to make the purchase, while Lovell and Lall waited outside. It was at this point that the gunman approached and opened fire. The police said they had recovered 14 9 mm spent shells from the scene.
Although Lovell had been charged with Edghill’s murder, the matter never made it to trial after the presiding magistrate upheld a no-case submission made on his behalf during the preliminary inquiry.
