Berbice man beaten, threatened by trio charged with multi-million-dollar robbery at RDC

– Police investigating matter – Commander

Days after they were granted bail by the court for the multi-million-dollar robbery committed on the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) in New Amsterdam, the three men are now accused of assaulting and threatening a civilian, thus leaving him traumatized and living in fear.
Twenty-six-year-old Shawn Simon has told <<Guyana Times>> that, at about 02:00h on Wednesday, he went to visit a friend who works at a hotel in New Amsterdam, and while there, the three men and two women walked in – all of whom he knows. He said a few of them approached him, and from there, the situation escalated.
“Two came to the front desk where I was talking to my friend, and the (name given) turned to me and said that he don’t want no ‘antiman’ around here. My friend told him that I was not there for him but that I came to her.
“We continued our conversation, and then he came up in my face and started ranting, and I got upset and that is when I retaliated. I told them the time you all taking to study me, you should study the RDC money that you all stole.”
“The victim said he was then punched in the face by another member of the group, causing him to fall to the ground, where he was punched two more times.
“My friend came and she grabbed him, and I got to run out,” Simon detailed.
According to the victim, he was confused as he ran out of the premises, and instead of going to the Police station, he went in the direction of the New Amsterdam Prison.

“When I went to the Prison, I started to bang on the door, and when I looked back, they were driving in a car coming behind me,” Simon detailed.
He said an officer at the New Amsterdam Prison told him he needed to go to the Police station, and as he left, he saw the men who had assaulted him coming towards him; thus he was forced to take refuge in the compound of the Prison Officers Sports Club.
“The gate is always open, so I rushed in there and I hid. I know that they saw when I ran in there, so while the car was passing, they slowed down and they said if I only go to the station, they would find me and they would shoot and kill me,” he related.
Despite the threats, he still went to the Central Police Station in New Amsterdam, and an officer took a statement from him and asked that he return the following day. He said that even though his face was partly swollen and he was bleeding, the officer did not give him a form to obtain a Police medical report from a doctor.
In fact, Simon said he even begged for the Police patrol vehicle to take him home, since one of the persons who attacked him and made the threats also resides in his community. However, the officer reportedly said there was no vehicle available.
The young man is claiming he now fears for his life.
“There are many reasons for me to be scared. Number one is the record that they uphold as a gang, and for them saying if I went to the Police station they were going to kill me, I am fearful. We LGBTQ persons, the law doesn’t focus on us that much. We have to fight to get through in the system,” he added.
When contacted, Regional Commander Shivpersaud Bacchus told Guyana Times the Police had made checks for the RDC robbery accused in relation to this assault, but they have not been located.
Those who were charged with the $40 million robbery at the RDC are O’Neil Lampkin, a 32-year-old construction worker of Sheet Anchor Village, East Canje Berbice; Damion Morgan, a 25-year-old resident of Ordnance Fortlands, East Canje Berbice; and Shkeel Grant, a 27-year-old businessman of Asylum Street, New Amsterdam Berbice.