A bandit was shot dead last night by his accomplice during a robbery at a gas station on the West Coast of Berbice.
Late last night, the dead bandit was identified by family members as Jermain Jerrick of No.30 Village, West Coast Berbice. The bandit was taken to the Fort Wellington Hospital after the incident and pronounced dead on arrival. Stabroek News was told by multiple sources that the bandit was shot in his forehead.
Sources told Stabroek News that at around 7pm, two men armed with a gun and a knife went to Arif’s Service Station at Onderneeming and carried out the robbery. The GuyOil-branded service station is owned by Fazlim Haniff of Rosignol, West Bank Berbice.
The source said that during the robbery, the men collected an undisclosed amount of cash and were attempting to tie up the supervisor before their escape. However, the supervisor put up a fight which prevented the bandit from tying him up. As result, the bandit with the gun aimed at the supervisor with the intention of shooting him but instead shot his partner.
The bandit, according to sources on the scene was shot to his head at close range.
Stabroek News was told that after the bandit was shot, his partner relieved a customer of his PPP 2704 Toyota Allion and escaped with an undisclosed amount of cash. A source said that the amount of cash is not substantial as earlier in the day the gas station made a deposit.
The robbery was carried out in full view of the public and a large crowd gathered after. This newspaper learnt that the duo entered the premises on foot wearing toque-like masks. They went to the desk where the supervisor was sitting and made their demands. The dead bandit was also found next to the supervisor’s desk by investigators. He was found clothed in a blue-and-white striped polo shirt and camouflage jeans.
As investigators were on the scene, residents who converged outside the cordoned off area, questioned why no police patrol had chased after the bandit in the stolen car. Others were heard talking about the amount of time the police took to respond.
A resident who is close to the owner of the service station said that calls were made to the police station but the police took some time to respond.
The dead bandit is at the Anthony’s Funeral Parlour awaiting identification and a post mortem examination.
