Police secure court order to further detain suspects

The Guyana Police Force on Tuesday moved to the High Court and was successful in securing an order to further detain the three suspects held for the early Friday morning robbery at the Ramada Princess Hotel and Casino, Providence, East Bank Demerara.
Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum told Guyana Times that the High Court granted the order for the suspects to be detained for another 72 hours as investigations into the daring robbery and shooting continued.
Those in custody are Wayne Griffith, one of the bandits who was found hiding in a stockroom at the hotel following the robbery; Andrew Blackman, a security guard at Princess Casino who is said to be the mastermind of the robbery and Junior Stewart of Thomas Street, Kitty, Georgetown, who was arrested on Sunday evening with over 0,000, after Police swooped down on his sister’s house at Vreed-en-Hoop, West Coast Demerara.
Reports are that Blackman has since admitted to being one of the two persons who plotted the crime. Pandemonium broke out at the gambling facility on April 30, after four gunmen stormed the casino about 03:45h and discharged several rounds as they relieved patrons and staff of cash and other valuables.
During the shooting, Eon Garraway was shot to his left hand; James Gregory, to his left foot; Orlando Knights, to his left hand and Udairan Sookraj, to his right hand. They were all admitted to a city hospital.
Melissa Ferguson, Jermaine Mason and Roshel Fraser were also assaulted.
Based on reports, after the men entered the facility, they held a security guard at gunpoint and took away his shotgun and several rounds of ammunition.
The men then ordered everyone to lie on the ground and escorted the security guard to the cashier’s cage where they relieved the cashier of an undisclosed sum of foreign and local currency. By this time, the Police were alerted about the robbery and responded promptly.
As they arrived at the scene, they were confronted by the armed men, which resulted in an exchange of gunfire. During the exchange, Police Lance Corporal Andrew Richardson was shot to his abdomen. He was admitted to a city hospital and underwent emergency surgery.
It was reported that the car used in the robbery was hijacked at Brush Dam, Buxton, East Coast Demerara.
The car has since been impounded as Police continue their investigations.