The last two weeks have seen four execution-style killings, two of which are said to be connected and this highlights that gunmen for hire are still on the prowl while underworld gangs continue to operate unfettered.
A senior police official who is experienced in law enforcement told Stabroek News that in such cases, the masterminds ensure that the activities are undetected by law enforcement officials and as such hire persons to conduct the acts. A lot of effort is placed into these killings before they actually take place and they are well planned.
While he did not categorize execution hits as the most difficult crimes to solve, he noted that once the intellectual author of such crimes is apprehended, the process of investigation flows.
As of recent, ranging from the period of March 19 to Friday evening, four persons were killed including a Lance Corporal attached to the Guyana Defence Force Coastguard, who was riddled with bullets just in front his Charlestown home last Tuesday evening.
Of the four murders, the police were able to make a breakthrough in one case – the killing of Smyth Street resident Oriley Small, who was shot several times on March 19, outside his home.
A suspect, Maurice Prince, was charged with the crime and remanded to prison until April 14. Testing conducted by police had allegedly uncovered a large amount of gunpowder residue on his hands.
Two other men were also arrested but later released and were required to continue to report to the police at a stipulated time.
Less than one week after this incident, the bullet-riddled body of murder accused Steve Mohamed was found in Le Repentir cemetery on a dam.
Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum had told Stabroek News recently that while no arrest had yet been made, there has been a new development and investigators are currently looking for two of Mohamed’s close accomplices.
Mohamed had a wanted bulletin issued for him in December after he escaped from custody.
He had been charged with the murder of Quacy Thompson, who was killed on July 15, 2014, at Mowasi Landing, Konawaruk.
Mohamed, in October, 2014 was also charged with armed robbery, illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition and discharging a loaded weapon to prevent a policeman from arresting him. Last month, he was sentenced in his absence to 10 years in prison for the charges of unlawful firearm and ammunition possession and discharging a loaded firearm.
He was ordered to serve five years in jail for unlawful firearm possession as well as for unlawful possession of ammunition. He was also sentenced to five years in jail on the charge of discharging a loaded firearm. The sentences were to run concurrently.
Linked
Meanwhile, there have been new developments in the murders of Lance Corporal Kevon Payne and Charlestown resident Gladstone Taylor. Police sources said these two killings are linked since there was an ongoing feud between the two parties for a period of time.
Payne, 22, called ‘Scar,’ of Sussex Street, Charlestown, was gunned down a short distance away from his home around 10.20 pm on Tuesday.
The police had said that Payne was among a group of men standing on the roadway at Lyng and Sussex streets, Charlestown, when two men armed with firearms rode up on a motorcycle and discharged rounds in their direction. He was shot about the body, including once to the chest, and was pronounced dead on arrival at the Georgetown Public Hospital.
Ranks of a police mobile patrol that was in the vicinity responded and confronted the two suspects but they managed to escape after an exchange of gunfire, police added.
A post-mortem examination performed on his remains of Payne revealed that he died as a result of shock and haemorrhage due to the multiple gunshot wounds he sustained.
Two brothers, Clive and Randy Bharat were arrested as investigators began exploring several leads. However, just yesterday, police arrested another individual, Dellon Small called ‘Two Pound’ after he was identified as the alleged triggerman by eyewitnesses.
This new development came after Payne’s brother, Vellone Thorne, recanted an earlier statement to investigators in which he alleged that the police were involved in the killing of his brother. A source had indicated to this newspaper that Payne might have been mistaken for his brother, who was the intended target of the attack due to a dispute with an underworld figure.
But Thorne has also been arrested in connection with the murder of Taylor. The police said in a press release that Taylor called ‘Tuffy’ of Adelaide and Sussex streets, Charlestown, Georgetown, was sitting in a chair in front of his residence when two men drove up on a motorcycle.
One of the men who was armed with a firearm discharged several rounds at Taylor and they escaped on the motor cycle. Gladston Taylor was hit about his body and was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Thorne, Payne’s brother was arrested after eyewitnesses fingered him as the person who pumped several bullets in Taylor before speeding away from the scene. Another individual is yet to be arrested.
Thorne’s hands were checked for gunpowder residue and police are awaiting the results while they continue to hunt for the second suspect.
These murders are suspected to be reprisal killings, since, according to a source, the Bharat brothers are linked to the drug underworld. The source said they reportedly conduct business at a location where Payne and Thorne would have visited and discharged rounds.
Stabroek News was also reliably informed that Taylor’s connection was that he had reportedly paid another individual to murder Payne.
