2008 murder of GDF rank: Ex-soldier recalls patrol coming under fire from gunmen in Buxton

Former Guyana Defence Force (GDF) private Marlon Simpson told a jury on Monday that he and his colleagues travelled from the Force’s Coast Guard headquarters in Kingston, Georgetown, to Buxton, East Coast Demerara (ECD), on January 8, 2008, in response to a loud blast—a signal of “100 per cent alertness”. He was at the time giving testimony in the trial of a mass killer, Mark Royden Williams. Williams, called “Smallie”, who is on death row for killing 12 persons, including three Police ranks during the 2008 Bartica, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) massacre, is currently on trial before Demerara High Court Judge Sandil Kissoon for the January 23, 2008 murder of GDF Corporal Ivor Williams who was shot and killed by gunmen at Buxton, ECD.

Williams has pleaded not guilty to a charge for the capital offence, and is being represented by lawyer Nigel Hughes. State Counsel Latifah Elliott and State Counsel Muntaz Ali are the prosecutors.
Media reports from 2008 stated that at around 08:30h, several gunmen ambushed a GDF vehicle. The gunmen and the soldiers were engaged in a shootout during which Ivor Williams was fatally shot.
Simpson testified that on that fatal day, he and eight other ranks responded to the loud blast by travelling to Buxton and upon arrival, they heard rapid gunshots. Shortly after, the witness said that “Corporal Williams shout that he get knock” and was later seen hanging out of the vehicle without his weapon—an AK 47 rifle. As a result, Simpson said that he and the other ranks drove to Brush Dam where they formed an “all-round defence” as the gunmen continued firing at them.

“I saw someone run. And we returned fire,” he recalled, adding that Corporal Williams, who was bleeding from the chest, was eventually taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) where he later died.
After his evidence-in-chief, Simpson was cross-examined by the accused’s lawyer.
In 2017, Mark Williams and Dennis “Anaconda” Williams were sentenced to death by hanging for their involvement in the 2008 Bartica massacre which left 12 persons, including three policemen, dead. Following a trial, they were found guilty of the killings by a jury. The two Williams convicts have since filed an appeal against their conviction and sentence. That case is yet to be called at the Court of Appeal of Guyana.
On February 17, 2008, gunmen carried out a brazen attack, while members of the mining community were watching a game of 20/20 cricket on television. On that fateful night, Police Lance Corporal Zaheer Zakir and Constables Shane Fredericks and Ron Osborne were fatally shot. Edwin Gilkes, Dexter Adrian, Irving Ferreira, Deonarine Singh, Ronald Gomes, Ashraf Khan, Abdool Yasseen, Errol Thomas, and Baldeo Singh were the civilians killed.
Then in 2021, Mark Williams was found not guilty by a jury of the December 16, 2007 murders of 35-year-old Rajesh Singh and 25-year-old Fazal Hakim which occurred at Triumph, ECD. Another man, Michael Caesar, called “Capone”, was sentenced to 13 years in prison after pleading guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter over the deaths of Singh and Hakim.
Moreover, in February 2019, Mark Williams and Sherwin Nero, called, “Catty” or “Pussy”, were both found not guilty of the murder of businessman Kumar Singh, which occurred on August 30, 2007. Reports indicate that 51-year-old Singh, also known as “Mango Man”, of Lot 51 Craig Milne, Cove and John, ECD, was shot and killed by bandits. And, in May 2018, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) restored the acquittals of Mark Williams and James Hyles, called “Sally”, for the slaying of 11 persons, including children in the January 2008 Lusignan, ECD massacre.
In 2017, Mark Williams was among the high-profile prisoners who escaped after a fire gutted the Camp Street Prison in Georgetown. He was, however, apprehended weeks later by Police ranks while he was on board a public minibus in Weldaad Public Road, West Coast Berbice (WCB). (G1)