Clothes vendor shot dead, shopkeeper arrested

Investigators attached to the Guyana Police Force (GPF) are probing the murder of 54-year-old clothes vendor Datson Davidson, also known as “Blackie,” of Callender Street, Albouystown, Georgetown who was gunned down on Thursday night during a confrontation at Cocorite and Freeman Streets, East La Penitence, Georgetown.

The incident occurred around 20:45h, and the alleged shooter has been identified as 33-year-old Colwin Mercurius, a shopkeeper of Freeman Street, East La Penitence. He was swiftly arrested following the shooting, and is currently in police custody as investigations continue.
Initial police investigations revealed that Davidson and Mercurius, who reportedly knew each other, were involved in an argument at the East La Penitence location. Shortly after the altercation, a loud explosion, believed to be a gunshot, was heard, and Davidson was seen lying motionless a short distance away.
Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) were summoned to the scene, where Davidson was pronounced dead by a doctor. Crime scene investigators recovered a 9mm pistol, one live 9mm round, and a spent shell.
The murder has sent shockwaves through both Albouystown and East La Penitence communities.
What has heightened public concern is the suspect’s extensive criminal history involving illegal firearm charges dating back more than a decade.
In August 2011, then 19-year-old Mercurius was charged with possession of an unlicensed .38 Beretta pistol and six matching rounds of ammunition. He had denied the charges and was remanded to prison by Magistrate Hazel Octave-Hamilton but was later released.
In 2019, Mercurius, then 27 years old, was again brought before the court, this time charged with possession of a .32 Taurus pistol and eight live rounds of .32 ammunition. Police claimed the gun was found in his crotch, though his attorney at the time, George Thomas, argued that the weapon had been discovered in a yard with multiple occupants. The firearm was later linked to an April 6, 2019, robbery.
Mercurius was remanded to prison by Senior Magistrate Leron Daly but was released again.
Two years later, in November 2021, Mercurius was back before the courts. On that occasion, 29-year-old Mercurius was charged once more for illegal possession of a .32 Taurus pistol and four matching rounds.
According to the Police Prosecutor, the weapon was found in a car where Mercurius was a passenger during a stop-and-search exercise.
Mercurius was represented by attorney Bernard DaSilva, who contended that his client was wrongfully accused as he was neither the car’s driver nor owner. The Magistrate granted him $150,000 bail and ordered that he report monthly to the police station. He was later released.
Now, with Davidson’s death and a firearm recovered at the scene, Mercurius once again finds himself at the centre of a police investigation, this time for murder.
Investigations are ongoing.