Police ordered to conduct further investigations – Crime Chief

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Shalimar Ali-Hack has ordered the Guyana Police Force’s Criminal Investigations Department (CID) to conduct further investigations in order to locate the ‘intellectual authors’ behind the execution of activist Courtney Crum-Ewing over a year ago.

Back in February, CID ranks arrested People’s Progressive Party (PPP) employee Jason Abdulla, PPP Executive Member and former Press Officer Kwame McKoy, Okene Fraser and self-confessed death squad member Sean Hinds, whom Police believe had a role in the activist’s death, which occurred on March 10, 2015.
A file was prepared and sent to the DPP’s Chambers for advice on whether charges against the four suspects should be instituted. But the DPP returned the files with instructions for further investigations to be conducted. The four suspects were subsequently recalled at the CID Headquarters and further questioned immediately after.
Following additionally investigation, the Police returned the files to the DPP but again were asked to do more work before advice can be given on whether to proceed with criminal charges.
Head of the CID, Wendell Blanhum, told reporters on Saturday that the file has been returned to the Police with instructions for additional work to be conducted to ascertain the mastermind behind the murder that sparked much outraged in Guyana last year.
Earlier this year, the Crime Chief had explained that the four new suspects were arrested in light of new information that had surfaced in relation to Crum-Ewing’s murder. However, he noted that investigators were unable to complete the probe.
“The investigation would have been triggered due to some new developments, where we would have received further information and as a result of that, they had arrested those guys. We had them in custody but because of the complex nature of that investigation, time did not permit us to complete that investigation,” he stated.
Following their arrests, the four suspects were released from Police custody on their own recognisance and have been reporting to the Police on a regular basis to assist with the further investigations.
Crum-Ewing, a 40-year-old ex-soldier, was gunned down execution style on March 10, 2015, while urging residents of the Diamond Housing Scheme, on the East Bank of Demerara, to go out and cast their ballots in the May 11, 2015 General and Regional Elections.
An autopsy performed on Crum-Ewing revealed he was shot five times – three bullets to the head, one to the back of the neck, and the fifth bullet entered under one of his arms. All the bullets were fired from behind and at close range except the one that hit under his arm and exited his shoulder.
It was also reported that the bullet wound to the back of the man’s neck was at point-blank range and gunpowder residue was found on the back of the collar of the shirt he was wearing. Two .38 war heads were removed from the dead man’s head, reports revealed.
Following the death of the man who rose to popularity after picketing former Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall’s office, Reagan Rodrigues, also called “Grey Boy” was arrested and charged. Nandlall’s former bodyguard Rajput Narine was also arrested and questioned in relation to Crum-Ewing’s death.