Guard chops alleged chicken thief

Police have launched an investigation into the chopping to death of an alleged chicken thief at Perseverance East, Providence, East Bank Demerara.
According to Police, the incident occurred on Monday morning between 03:00h and 04:00h but the dead man is still unidentified.
Investigations revealed that the 41-year-old guard was at the farm located at Perseverance East when he heard noises coming from a chicken pen. Police said that upon making checks, he saw several persons moving in the pen. The man then armed himself with a cutlass and returned to the pen where he was confronted by three men, who were making their way out of the pen with two large bags, suspected to have contained chickens.
The guard, in his statement to Police, said that he blocked their exit and told the men to put back the chickens, when two of the males whipped out a cutlass and a hammer and rushed towards the man. He said he dodged a chop and dealt the male armed with the hammer a chop with the cutlass he had in his possession. He said that the third thief then armed himself with a piece of wood and rushed towards him and he too was chopped several times.
The thief with the cutlass, he said, fled. Police said that the guard called his employer and informed him of what had occurred and the owner visited the farm and with the assistance of a taxi driver, transported the injured men to the Providence Police Station where the incident was reported.
The injured men were then escorted to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre where one was pronounced dead on arrival.
The other male who has since been identified as a resident of Coverden, East Bank Demerara, is said to be an ex-worker of the farm’s owner. Police on Monday evening said that the man is also the prime suspect in two larceny reports made by the owner over the past week.
The injured man was subsequently transferred to the Georgetown Hospital, while the body of the unidentified male was escorted to the Memorial Garden’s Funeral Home awaiting a post-mortem examination.
The 41-year-old guard is in Police custody assisting with investigations.