A Smyth Street man was shot dead, execution-style, as he was about to enter his premises during the wee hours of the morning yesterday and the police have since arrested two men for questioning.
Dead is Oriley Small, 31, called “Smallie,” said to be a businessman, of Lot 2 Smyth Street, Werk-en-Rust, Georgetown, who was shot almost a dozen times. He had survived two earlier attempts on his life in 2009 and 2012.
The police, in a brief statement, said the body of Small was found around 3am in the yard of his residence with suspected gunshot wounds.
Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum later confirmed to Stabroek News that two men, Morris Prince and Mark Cromwell, were arrested and taken to the Brickdam Police Station for questioning.
Prince is said to be a security guard at the Rio nightclub.
They remained in custody up to late yesterday afternoon.
A car, in which the suspect/s fled the scene, was also impounded.
Stabroek News was told that Small was shot about 11 times about his body by a lone gunman. At the time of the shooting, he had just entered his yard after returning from a Friday evening hang in the city. A man dressed in a black hoodie was seen exiting the yard after the shooting, heading towards Princes Street.
Small occupied the upper flat of the house at Lot 2 Smyth Street with his mother and sister, while his aunt resided in the lower flat.
When this newspaper visited the house yesterday morning, a number of relatives and friends had joined church members in offering a prayer. The crowd grew larger as the news of his death spread. Investigators were also still present conducting investigations, although residents remained tight-lipped about the shooting. The window at a neighbouring residence was shattered after shots were also fired in that direction.
Gailann Edwards, the aunt of the dead man, said her nephew’s death has left family members in shock as to what may have led to his brutal end. She said she last spoke with him on Friday evening around 7pm, when he was heading out. According to the woman, she was awakened by the sounds of multiple gunshots. “All I could remember hearing was someone saying ‘aye’ and the shots continued to fire,” she recalled.
Edwards said Small was not expected home at that time yesterday morning since it was customary for him to call either her or his sister to open the door. “When he go out, he does call either me or most times he sister to open door for he, but this morning he didn’t because he probably didn’t had credit,” she stated.
She said the sight of her nephew’s body, lying motionless on the ground and covered in blood, is one that can never be erased form her memory.
In the same breath, she admitted that Small had previous brushes with the law.
In January, 2012, Small was charged for armed robbery and attempted murder and was remanded to prison.
The charge against him had stated that on January 9, 2012, at North/East La Penitence, he had shot New York-based Guyanese Felix Alleyne, who lost one of his kidneys as a result, and also robbed him of a gold chain valued $150,000.
Small and an accomplice allegedly approached Alleyne, who was speaking with friends, and chucked him. A scuffle then ensued, during which the accused was alleged to have relieved Alleyne of his chain and shot him in the lower abdomen.
Small and his accomplice then made good their escape, but the incident was caught on security cameras mounted in the area. Subsequent police investigations led to Small’s arrest. He also faced a simple larceny charge the same year.
Small had escaped death twice before, after he was shot in separate attacks. In September 2009, Small was one of five persons who were shot after a football match at the National Gymnasium. He was also one of three persons who was shot at the National Cultural Center in 2012, where the ‘Guinness Greatest of the Streets’ football tournament was being played.
Small was described as a quiet and easy going person, who was well-known to many. He is survived by a daughter.
His body is currently at the Lyken Funeral Parlour awaiting a post-mortem examination.
