Two bandits attempting to rob a Georgetown business establishment on Friday morning were shot dead when their enterprise was foiled by a quick thinking and responsive businessman.
Twenty-five-year-old Trevor Barrow and 27-year-old Calvin Dover, both of Bent Street Georgetown, are accused of having attempted to rob the “Les” Variety Store and business establishment on Durban Street, Georgetown at about 11:30h while there was a continuous downpour of rain.
Calvin Dover’s body being removed from Bent Street, Georgetown
Reports suggest that before the duo entered the business establishment, they were spotted by the proprietor on a surveillance camera acting suspiciously. This led him to venture to the lower flat of the building where the business transactions are conducted on a daily basis.
Guyana Times understands that the men entered the premises brandishing firearms with intent to rob the business place and its patrons, but their attempt was foiled when the proprietor, also armed and prepared for any eventuality, confronted them.
According to information reaching this newspaper, the businessman shot Barrow to his foot in an attempt to disarm him, but a defiant Barrow pointed his firearm in the direction of the businessman and reportedly pulled the trigger after shouting that he would not die at the hands of the businessman.
Both perpetrator and defendant simultaneously realized that the safety on Barrow’s gun was still in place, and the businessman quickly retaliated by shooting Barrow to his head. The bandit is said to have died on the spot, before the arrival of law enforcement.
As a crowd gathered and Police arrived on the scene, a search was launched in the area for Barrow’s accomplice.
Second shooting
Not long after, the lawmen received a tip-off that Dover was hiding in a nearby building somewhere in the vicinity of Bent Street. They pounced on him in his place of refuge, and eyewitnesses said a shootout ensued between the Police and the bandit. He was subsequently shot and killed in the building on Bent Street.
The “Les” Variety Store which the bandits attempted to rob
After two hours, the Police retrieved the man’s body from the building with the help of public-spirited citizens, and whisked it away under the watchful eyes of dozens of persons who were present at the scene.
Family claims
Dover’s uncle told this newspaper that he was disappointed with aspects of the Police conduct.
“That is murder! What you shoot him in his head for?” the uncle asked, before explaining that the family is not justifying Dover’s actions, but believe that the Police could have acted more professionally and cautiously.
“We don’t have (his) mind and we don’t know what he coulda do,” the uncle said.
“If he did wrong, and they come and catch in the house, they have a right to arrest him. He wasn’t shooting at them at this point…. He should have been arrested…go to court and jail, if he has to.”
The Police have since arrested three persons from the Bent Street house where Dover had sought refuge, including a man and his teenage daughter. They also recovered some spent shells from the weapon he allegedly had used, but not before seizing a number of mobile devices from the property.
Dover was said to have been a plumber by profession, while Barrow had been unemployed, according to persons who live in the area. Barrow had also been a former student of the Tutorial High School and the Stella Maris Primary School.
Barrow’s aunt, who was also at the scene, said he had been a good boy whose only fault was that he had been following the wrong company and friends.
“He could have been alive today, had he listened to me,” she said while mourning in the downpour outside the building where his body had lain.
