Ten days after gold dealer, Ricardo Fagundes was riddled with bullets just after he exited the Palm Court bar on Main Street, Georgetown, the Guyana Police Force (GPF) remains silent on the investigation.
Several efforts made by Stabroek News to contact Commissioner of Police (ag) Nigel Hoppie for an update on the probe proved futile since calls to his phone went unanswered.
To date, it is unclear whether any arrest has been made in the matter and whether the police are following any new leads.
What is also unknown is if the police were able to ascertain the identity of Fagundes’ alleged shooters from the footage obtained.
A number of other angles of the investigation remain unaddressed. These include the origin of the high-power AK-47 which was used in the shooting. AK-47’s were prominent in the crime spree years after a large quantity was stolen from the Guyana Defence Force. The rifles also came from other sources.
In terms of the suspected getaway car, it is unclear whether investigators were able to determine if the car found burnt at Swan Village on the Soesdyke-Linden Highway, hours after the shooting was the same used in the crime.
Questions also linger about forensic works being done to recover the chassis number of the car which was reportedly “scraped off” and the findings of ballistics tests from the spent shells and any bullets recovered from the body.
Fagundes, also known as ‘Paper Shorts’, 42, a resident of Sandy Babb Street, Kitty, was riddled with bullets by two men outside of the Palm Court around 10 pm on Sunday, March 21.
According to the police, Fagundes was having drinks with a colleague in Palm Court when he received a call on his cell phone.
Shortly after exiting Palm Court, the police said several loud explosions were heard. Fagundes was later found lying in a pool of blood on the road. His body bore several gunshot wounds.
An autopsy later showed that Fagundes was shot about 20 times about his body.
Sources told Stabroek News that the police recovered 30 rounds at the scene. Sixteen were from an AK-47 rifle while the other fourteen were from a 9mm gun.
In the surveillance footage seen by Stabroek News, Fagundes was seen walking towards a black vehicle which was parked in front of Palm Court.
Approached
As he approached the vehicle, two gunmen emerged from a white car parked on the eastern carriageway of Main Street, ran towards him and opened fire. After several shots, Fagundes collapsed. However, the gunmen still continued to shoot at him, running to the front of the vehicle where Fagundes lay.
Shortly after, one of the gunmen rushed back to the getaway car. His accomplice, then ran towards Fagundes, stood over him and discharged more rounds before he re-entered the waiting motorcar. The car sped away along Main Street.
During a speech at Fagundes’ funeral service on Monday, convicted drug trafficker Roger Khan said that he was the real target of the shooting. Khan had also been at Palm Court at the time.
“This was not an attack on Ricardo. Today is especially difficult for me… It’s difficult… because he died in my place. Make no mistake about it. Ricardo died in my place. Every single one of those bullets was meant for me. All twenty something of those bullets were meant for me. I am standing here
speaking to you from the grave,” Khan said.
Khan appealed to President Irfaan Ali for a “clean and impartial” investigation.
“Mr President, we are asking you, I am asking you on behalf of the family of Ricardo, to give this investigation the very same attention that you gave the Henry boys. Ricardo’s life is no less important than any other life in Guyana. We are asking for the political will, we are asking for the resources, that this investigation be handled by impartial investigators,” he pleaded.
He said the family will not rest until they receive justice.
“…The hearts of men bleed for justice. It is a natural, God-given, inalienable thing that God gives man, to try for justice and this act here, this injustice, if the police do not investigate this crime and follow the evidence rather than follow the money or any kind of corrupt motive, the hearts of men will become enraged,” Khan stated.
Khan’s comments, which were widely shared on Facebook in a video posted by Royston Drakes Production, prompted a swift response from the GPF, which sought to assure that a “comprehensive” investigation is ongoing into the matter.
In a statement, the police said that they are pursuing all leads to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice.
Additionally, the force said that the matter is being treated with “seriousness” and “alacrity” by investigators of the Force’s Major Crimes Unit.
