Bandit shot dead after robbing foreigner

A suspected bandit was shot and killed in the wee hours of Tuesday during an exchange of gunfire with a security officer at an apartment building in Crown Street, Queenstown.

Dead: Nigel Wellington

Dead is 36-year-old Nigel Wellington of Mocha Arcadia, East Bank Demerara. He was reportedly shot at least four times after robbing a foreign national who was making his way into the apartment building.
Based on reports received, the 33-year-old victim, who is a chef at the El Sol Hostel returned home at about 03:30h and after exiting the car, he stood at the door waiting for the security officer to open it when the bandit pounced on him.
The chef had just returned from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) after accompanying some friends who left Guyana.
Whilst waiting at the door, he was held at gunpoint by the now dead man who demanded he hand over his cash and other valuables. The victim refused to cooperate with the bandit and in retaliation, the armed man struck him to his mouth and relieved him of his mobile phone. The bandit also grabbed an undisclosed sum of foreign and local currency. The alert security officer, who is attached to Ingrid and Chase Mining Company, upon realising what was happening, ran out and instructed the bandit to “freeze”. The bandit then turned around and pointed his 9mm pistol in the direction of the guard and in retaliation, the security shot him once to the foot.
Upon falling to the ground, Guyana Times was told that the bandit attempted to raise his gun at the officer and again, he was shot, this time to the shoulder.
Although the bandit was shot twice, he attempted to shoot the guard once again but this time, he received the fatal blow. The man dropped to the ground where his lifeless body remained until the undertakers arrived.
The security officer, a police source related, contacted his superiors and summoned the police to the scene. It is believed that the bandit did not get an opportunity to use the weapon that he was carrying but the investigators have retrieved several spent shells.
The police have also retrieved the items that were taken from the victim. In addition, the firearm that was being carried by the bandit along with a live round of ammunition was found close to his body.
The man’s body was taken to Lyken’s Funeral Home and is awaiting a post-mortem.
Wellington is no stranger to the law. In January 2018, he was slapped with several robbery charges. He was accused of robbing Vanessa Albert of a Samsung smart TV, a TCL TV, a Samsung 7 Edge phone and a gold ring on December 2017. The stolen items were valued at $570,000 in total.
Also, he was previously charged for robbing Ezekiel London of a $90,000 laptop and 2 iPhones, valued at $160,000.
Additionally, he along with others, on January 4, 2018, at North Ruimveldt, while armed with a gun, robbed Simona Hopkinson of two gold rings valued at $84,000, three gold earrings valued at $25,000 and a $75,000 flat screen TV, a total value of $184,000.