The police said yesterday that members of the Joint Services fatally shot a man who was wanted in connection with assisting notorious death-row prison escapee Mark Royden Williams, while they were transporting him on a trail at St Mary’s Logging Area, Essequibo River, about 58 miles south of Bartica.
According to a police press release, Neon Howard, called ‘Taxi’, 33, of Friendship, East Coast Demerara, cranked the weapon of one of the lawmen, which he had snatched. Police said Howard was wanted for aiding in the escape of Williams called ‘Smallie’, who, with his (Howard’s) assistance, fled the Mazaruni Prison on May 19.
It was the first time Howard was named as an accomplice as no wanted bulletin had been issued for him.
A manhunt had been launched by the Joint Services for the escapee along with his two accomplices, one being Howard, the police said. The second accomplice was not named.
The men were reportedly sighted at the St Mary’s quarry on Saturday and ranks from the Joint Services promptly responded and launched several patrols (ATV and foot) in the area.
Early yesterday, around 06:54 hrs, according to the release, a patrol on ATV was along a trail about six miles north west of where a lumber concession is based on the Essequibo River bank when they came upon Howard.
“The Joint Services ranks recognised him as one of the men wanted. They arrested Howard and proceeded to escort him through the trail, when the suspect suddenly snatched one of the ranks’ firearms from his lap as the rank drove the ATV. Howard immediately jumped off the ATV, ran a short distance in front of the ATV, and turned face-on whilst attempting to crank the firearm. As a result, one of the Joint Services ranks, who was armed with an AK 47 rifle, then discharged four rounds in Howard’s direction, one of which struck Howard, who fell in a ditch of water whilst still attempting to crank the firearm,” the release said.
Another rank upon seeing this then discharged three rounds from his 9mm weapon, of which two struck him as he soon became motionless.
The release said Howard was then taken to the Bartica Regional Hospital, where he was examined by a doctor on duty who pronounced him dead on arrival.
“At the time of Howard’s arrest, he was found with a black Samsung phone, one grey haversack which contained a pair of black Nike boots, Vitamin C tablets, Iron tablets, Malaria tablets, one camouflage hammock, one pack of cook-up seasoning, and one checkered boxer. It should be noted that items similar to these, including rations, had been previously discovered by ranks of the Joint Services who were in hot pursuit of the suspects,” the police release said.
The release also indicated that an eyewitness “who had interactions under duress with the escapee and his accomplices has positively identified Howard as one of those accomplices”.
Investigations continue.
Williams who has been convicted of multiple murders – including from the 2008 Bartica Massacre – and sentenced to death would have been one of the highest-value prisoners in the system.
Yet he easily fled the Mazaruni prison in what was an elaborate plot, that according to police, saw a visit from a woman, in flagrant breach of protocols surrounding death-row prisoners. This was followed by a fusillade from a rifleman who had disembarked from a boat that had staked out the area the night before.
Williams, supposedly with leg chains, and his accomplice ran and jumped into the river while covering fire was laid by another rifleman aboard the boat. They then motored away from the prison.
On Friday, Superintendent of the Mazaruni Prison Alexander Hopkinson was among six people who were charged with conspiring to facilitate the escape of Williams.
The others charged were Rajmohan Autor known as `Chico’, 48, a businessman of Parika Outfall; Frangeliz Jugandry Flores Perez, 28, a Venezuelan of Alexander Street, Kitty; Omar Witherspoon, a prison officer of Stanleytown, New Amsterdam; Conroy Hosannah, a prison officer of Fort Ordnance Housing Scheme, East Canje; Oldfield Romulus, 50, a prison officer of Cumberland Village, East Canje.
They appeared at the Bartica Magistrate’s Court before Magistrate Crystal Lambert and were all remanded until June 22nd.
Back in 2022, ‘Smallie’ was sentenced to death for the 2008 murder of Guyana Defence Force (GDF) officer Ivor Williams.
Sherwin Nero, also known as ‘Catty’, had also been charged and later confessed to killing Ivor Williams and was released from prison after he pleaded guilty to a lesser count of manslaughter and was sentenced for time already served back in 2020.
Reports are that around 8:30 pm on the day in question several armed men ambushed a GDF vehicle returning to Camp Ayanganna from an administrative run in Berbice. The gunmen engaged the soldiers on the Railway Embankment Road between Church of God and Company roads, during which Williams was fatally shot and two others, a soldier and a Friendship woman, were injured.
In 2017, ‘Smallie’ along with his co-accused Dennis Williams, called ‘Anaconda’, were both sentenced to death after they were found guilty of storming Bartica, where 12 men, including three police officers, were killed during an almost hour-long assault. Those killed in the rampage were police officers Lance Corporal Zaheer Zakir, and Constables Shane Fredericks and Ron Osborne, and civilians Edwin Gilkes, Dexter Adrian, Irving Ferreira, Deonarine Singh, Ronald Gomes, Ashraf Khan, Abdool Yasseen, Errol Thomas, and Baldeo Singh.
‘Smallie’ and company had appealed the sentence but months after, ‘Smallie’ was among the group of high-profile prisoners who escaped after a fire gutted the Camp Street Prison in Georgetown.
He was apprehended weeks later by police while riding a public minibus on the Weldaad Public Road, West Coast Berbice.‘Smallie’ was said to be the mastermind in setting up the entire incident.
In 2021, a jury found ‘Smallie’ not guilty of the December 16, 2007 murders of 35-year-old Rajesh Singh and 25-year-old Fazal Hakim, at Triumph, ECD.
