Duo pleads guilty to murdering phone card vendor

Alexander La Cruz and Mark ‘Biggs’ Welch, two 30-year-old co-defendants who have admitted to killing phone card vendor Ron Mansfield on June 19, 2018 in the course or furtherance of a robbery, will know their fate on November 16, 2023, when Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall would be pronouncing sentence on them for this murder at the Demerara High Court.
At their recent arraignment before this Judge, La Cruz of Lot 179 Meten-Meer-Zorg, West Coast Demerara (WCD) and Welch of Lot 2743 Recht-door-Zee, West Bank Demerara (WBD) pleaded guilty to the joint murder indictment presented against them by the State, thereby acknowledging that they killed the 37-year-old father of two, who had lived at Lot 772 Westminster, WBD.
State Prosecutors in this matter were Rbina Christmas, Caressa Henry, and Delon Fraser.
On June 19, 2018, Mansfield was attacked outside his home and shot in his chest by gunmen. He succumbed to his injuries while being transported to the West Demerara Regional Hospital (WDRH).
“The victim, who was discovered with a suspected gunshot injury to the body, was reportedly returning home from selling phone cards on his motorcycle,” Police had said. His bag containing his phone cards and money was not found, according to the Police. The attack had occurred at around 20:30h. (G1)