Eyewitness surfaces, gives different account of Kingston Seawall shooting

By Bisham Mohammed

More than two weeks after three suspected bandits were shot and killed along the Kingston Seawall, an eyewitness has come forward accusing the Police of murder.
Devon Lyte, a construction worker of Mc Doom, Greater Georgetown, who was working on the roof of the Guyana Softball Association on Carifesta Avenue on the day of the shooting, is holding out that he witnessed the alleged murder of Dextroy Cordis, Kwame Assanah and Errol Adams.
Not taking any chances, the young man contacted prominent attorney-at-law Nigel Hughes and sought advice; and during a press conference on Monday, the revelations were made.
The eyewitness, in a written statement, claimed that as he was on the roof, he noticed a black car being pursued by a silver motorcar.
Soon after, the black car came to a halt and a man exited. Similarly, the silver vehicle stopped and a man exited, and walked towards the parked black car.
“In fact, the driver of the black car was on the ground being physically assaulted for more than ten minutes before the gunfire erupted and three occupants, as you all know, were all dead…there were no motorcycle which disappeared with any pillion rider or any mysterious rider,” Hughes told media operatives at his office.
Lyte, in the statement, posited that the roads leading to the seawalls were all blocked to vehicular traffic prior to the shooting.
“Perhaps the most disturbing to me was that this was not just a group of Police officers who appeared to be involved, but this had to have some coordination; because if the seawall road was blocked prior to the eruption of the gunfire, prior to the car being stopped and one of the occupants exiting the car, then it seems to have required (a) lot more coordination …”.
During interrogation at the press conference, the eyewitness claimed that on the day in question he saw the Police, the bodies were lying on the ground and someone was standing over one of the men.
“About 15 minutes after, camera people show up on the scene; Police show up on the scene, lock down everything; and after then was that…the silver car was the Police car… the car from behind, start opening fire”, Lyte alleged.He also alleged that the occupants of the black car first exited their vehicle, and there was no exchange of gunfire. He also stated that there were no other vehicles on the seawall at the time of the shooting.
Hughes, however, questioned the rationale behind someone withdrawing $9.2 million from a bank and wanting to go to the seawall, while pointing out that the facts that were obtained from Lyte seems highly likely that the men were executed.
In light of the sudden disclosures, Hughes noted that his client is deeply concerned for his safety, especially considering that Guyana does not have the best history when it comes to witness protection.
Nonetheless, he noted that one of the reasons why the press conference was held before taking the eyewitness to the Police was because he wanted what Lyte had to say out in the public. “So you don’t get the Police version of what he is alleged to have said to the Police… Clearly, there are people whose interests are going to be threatened by what he has to say,” Hughes predicted.
Hughes stated that he had also spoken to the two other men who were working at the site with Lyte at the time, but refused to comment on the findings, which he promised will be release in due course.
The relatives of Dextroy Cordis of Grove, East Bank Demerara are calling for justice. They, too, feel their brother was murdered, and have urged that the Police officers who pulled the trigger be charged with murder.
Hours after the shooting deaths of the three men, the Police, in a statement, related that the men were followed by an unmarked Police vehicle after they were seen trailing a customer who had left the Scotia Bank on Robb Street, Georgetown.
The Police claimed that in the vicinity of the seawalls, the men in the black Toyota car opened fired on them, and in retaliation they returned fire, fatally wounding the men. The post mortem revealed that the men were shot between six and ten times, a revelation that comes as a shock to many.
In fact, a private firm is being contracted to review the autopsy reports and to determine what really took place on the day in question. It was also reported that the Police vehicle bore two gunshot holes to the front windscreen but there were none on the vehicle that was used by the alleged bandits, thus leaving unanswered the question: was there indeed a shootout?
Nevertheless, the Police commissioner in the past week, has thrown his support behind his ranks, claiming that the killings were justified.
Meanwhile, the Police, in a release on Monday, confirmed that Devon Lyte visited the Criminal Investigations Department in the company of lawyer Nigel Hughes, and submitted a statement to Crime Chief Paul Williams.
He was asked to return today (Tuesday) to be interview by senior detectives.