Allegedly mentally-ill man terrorising Berbice community

– residents calling for tougher Police action in dealing with matter

An allegedly mentally-ill man has reportedly been terrorising and verbally abusing residents of the community of Union, also known as Number 29 Village, on the West Coast of Berbice (WCB) in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice).
The suspect’s recent attack was carried out on Saturday last, when he was caught on CCTV camera hurling stones at a house in the area.

These attacks have reportedly been occurring periodically since 2016, and
concerned residents have related that while reports are made to the Police and responses are forthcoming, a permanent solution is needed. Even the homes of Police officers, including a Presidential Guard, have been targeted, they say.
In Saturday’s attack, Marian Joseph related that at about 2:50h, she heard stones crashing down on her sister’s property, and upon enquiring, she realized that the suspect was throwing stones. Soon after, he turned his attention to her house.
“And he was cussing and saying that he was going to murder all of us. And then he came in front of my gap; he has a cutlass in his left hand and a stone in his right hand. He pelt straight to my place and broke the window,” she detailed.
Joseph said Saturday’s incident was reported to the Police, but the response is not what her family had been expecting. “When you go and report to the Police, they might come and stand on the street and call for the man. The man would not come out of his gate, he would start up his chainsaw and they would stay for about 10 minutes and then they move away. Up to now, no Police can’t come and see the damage on my place,” Joseph told this publication on Monday.
She has said that while some people in the community are contending that this man is of unsound mind, she believes he is fully in control of his thoughts and actions.
Joseph has said she was eventually taken to the hospital for treatment for anxiety-related conditions.
Another resident, Marcus Lewis, related that the suspect had gone to his daughter’s workplace, two villages away, and had hurled treats at her; and his home had been targeted on Saturday. His car had also been damaged by stones thrown by the man. According to Marcus, this is not the first time his vehicle had been damaged by this individual. On one occasion, the court had ordered that the man replace the entire back door of the car, after he had damaged it.
The man implicated in these allegations had previously been found guilty of assaulting a neighbour, and a fine had been imposed on him by a magistrate while the neighbour had sued him for compensation. This man is
reportedly a rice farmer.