Three men are expected to appear in court today to face murder charges in relation to the killings of Lance Corporal Kevon Payne and Charlestown resident Gladstone “Tuffy” Taylor respectively.
They were identified as Vellone Thorne, Dellon Small, called ‘Two Pound,’ and Trefton (only name given). Thorne, who is the brother of Payne, is accused of killing Taylor, while the other two are accused of killing Payne.
Thorne was arrested after eyewitnesses reportedly identified him as the person who pumped several bullets into Taylor before speeding away from the scene.
The police said in a press release that Taylor, of Adelaide and Sussex streets, Charlestown, was sitting in a chair in front of his residence when two men rode up on a motorcycle last Friday night.
One of the men, who was armed with a gun, discharged several rounds at Taylor and they escaped on the motorcycle.
Taylor was hit about his body and was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH), where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Payne, 22, called ‘Scar,’ of Sussex Street, Charlestown, was gunned down a short distance away from his home around 10.20 pm last 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 GPH.
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.
Small was arrested on Saturday for questioning in relation to the murder of Payne after he was identified as the alleged triggerman by eyewitnesses.
Trefton was arrested earlier this week.
Two other men, brothers Clive and Randy Bharat, were also arrested in relation to Payne’s murder but were released on station bail over the weekend.
Police sources had revealed that these two killings were linked since there was an ongoing feud between the two parties over a period of time.
On Monday, following an application for an extension of the detention period for Thorne and Small, the High Court granted the police an additional 72 hours.
