A bandit will now lose sight in his left eye and another one is on the run after an early morning shootout with the police yesterday in Grove following a robbery.
According to a police press release, at around 3 am, Cheryl Embrack, 50, of Grove Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara, was entering her home when she was attacked by two men and held at gunpoint by one of the men who was armed. The men carried her into the house and took away a stereo set and a cellular phone. During the robbery, residents reacted to the commotion and alerted the police who responded and came under fire from one of the perpetrators as they were leaving the scene. The police returned fire, hitting one of the men to his eye and leg. The man was then rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he was identified as Devon Forde, 21, of Stevedore Housing Scheme. A .32 pistol and 10 matching rounds were recovered on the scene. The accomplice managed to escape.
“We saw the two guys earlier and we noticed they were strangers but we thought they were in the area to catch birds,” a resident told Stabroek News yesterday. He said that the presence of the two strangers in the area didn’t raise any suspicions as persons would frequently visit the area to catch birds. He said he was woken by a commotion coming from the yard early yesterday and when he peeked out he saw the two men, who had their faces covered, leading the woman up the stairs. “I peep and that’s what I see so I quickly tell the other neighbours and is they who call the police,” he said, stating that after a while they came out back with the woman and one of the two men was holding three bags that were packed. He said from what he understands, the two men had taken the woman upstairs and packed her jewellery, appliances, and other items into the bag. He stated that the man who had the bags jumped the fence and the other one proceeded back upstairs with the woman.
“Is wasn’t too long after that the police was speeding down the road in the same direction where the other man was running and I guess he drop the bags and hide when he see them,” the man said. He explained that after the man who went up back with the woman noticed the police vehicles, he rushed outside, stood on the stairs and opened fire at the police. “I hear like seven gunshots in the air rapidly and then it stop and I see the police rush in the yard and carry the man to the van,” he added. The man was then rushed to the hospital where he was treated for two gunshot wounds.
The residents applauded the police for their prompt response and their efforts in capturing one of the bandits. Stabroek News was made to understand that most of the items except the jewellery were recovered from the bags that were dropped.
