Police are investigating the murder of a Guyana Defence Force (GDF) lieutenant, Rondel Anthony Douglas, 33, who was attached to the Coast Guard and resided at Bagotville, West Bank Demerara (WBD).
The police stated that the incident occurred on Wednesday around 22.30 hours at Cul-de-Sac Street, North Ruim-veldt, Georgetown. Douglas moonlighted as a taxi driver with Aladdin Taxi Service of La Grange, WBD.
Enquiries revealed that Douglas, a licensed firearm holder, used his motorcar, a Toyota Fielder bearing registration number PZZ 703, as a part-time taxi with the Taxi Service. The owner of the taxi service told police that an identifiable male went to the taxi base and hired the victim to transport him.
(GDF photo)
According to a police report, a resident of Cul-de-Sac Street, North Ruimveldt, said he heard a loud explosion that sounded like a gunshot. He then looked out of his window to check and saw a Toyota Fielder motorcar speeding out of the area. The victim was lying on the ground in a pool of blood with two visible wounds to his chest and head.
CCTV footage has been retrieved and police are currently looking for the shooter, an accomplice and the motorcar as investigations continue.
The CCTV footage showed that the car was parked around the time of the shooting. A man approached the vehicle from behind and tried to pull open the driver’s door but was unsuccessful the first time. On the second try, the man managed to pull the door opened and a scuffle ensued between the man and Douglas. As the scuffle intensified, the camera showed that the attacker ran and Douglas pursued him while another man came out from the driver’s seat and watched on. A gunshot went off, and Douglas ran to the side of the car but didn’t get back into the driver’s seat, instead he fell to the ground beside the car at which point the two men got into the vehicle and drove off.
Meanwhile, the GDF in a press release yesterday extended condolences to the wife, family and friends of the Lieutenant.
Douglas enlisted in the GDF on 15th February, 2012, and was a graduate of the Standard Officer Course Number 44. He was a first-year full-time student at the University of Guyana, pursuing a degree in Computer Science. The GDF said that Lt (CG) Douglas was a committed and dedicated officer who last served as Aide-de-Camp to the former Chief of Staff, Brigadier Godfrey Bess.
The Chief of Staff, Brigadier Omar Khan, officers and ranks of the GDF condoled with Douglas’s wife, Candace McLean-Douglas, and their daughter, Adirah, and the other members of his immediate family.
