Ranks of the Guyana Police Force are probing the death of a 21-year-old man who was fatally shot in Pearl, East Bank Demerara (EBD), after it was reported that he, along with two others, allegedly attempted to rob a businessman on Saturday night.
Police identified the dead man as Seon Clarke, called “Cash Money”, of Old Road, Land of Canaan, EBD.
A Police report said that Clarke was shot while the other man was allegedly beaten by residents of the area.
“Initial investigations revealed that about 14:00h (on Saturday) the deceased and a male went into a grocery store at Sarah Johanna, EBD, and was observed by the proprietor behaving suspiciously. The proprietor made his way to the public road and alarmed a Policeman who was passing at the time; the Police responded and in the process, he summoned other Policemen. The men fled into the bushes, and during the process, two loud explosions were heard. A search was conducted, but they were not found,” the Police report stated.
It continued that about 22:30h that night “members of the community spotted the men on the Pearl Public Road and apprehended them; during the process, it was alleged that one of the public spirited citizens shot Clarke and inflicted a beating on his accomplice. The men were handed over to the Police, who rushed them to the Diamond Public Hospital, where Clarke was pronounced dead on arrival, whilst his accomplice was treated and taken into Police custody”.
However, residents of the community have denied shooting or beating the men and claimed that it was the Police who apprehended the
The man who was shot dead
robbers and not the residents.
Instead, residents related that a blue car pulled up alongside the business place and three men exited before jumping into the shop via an opening at the fence.
One of the men, the residents claimed, was carrying a firearm and held the businessman and his wife at gunpoint. However, the businessman managed to escape, rushed onto the public road and raised an alarm. They claimed that the driver of the suspected “getaway” car drove off after residents began gathering.
This alerted the men and they rushed to the back of the yard and escaped into the bushes. The residents said that persons were searching for the men but could not find them.
Villagers claimed later that evening, two of the men were spotted in the neighbouring village of Pearl. The Police were summoned and apprehended the men.
“We didn’t beat nobody… if we de beat them, then they wouldn’t still be alive,” the residents related.
One person even went on to claim that Clarke was shot by his accomplice.
“When the people start to gather around them, one of them had a gun and like he was trying to scare the people them away and he shoot the other one by mistake,” one resident told this newspaper.
However, when contacted on Sunday evening, Crime Chief (ag) Hugh Jessemy told Guyana Times that investigators were still in the Sarah Johanna/Pearl area trying to determine exactly what transpired the night before.
“Right now we are just trying to determine from everyone what really transpired… but we are looking at all the possibilities, we haven’t ruled anything out,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Police sources explained to this newspaper that the suspect in custody was claiming that he and Clarke were beaten by the residents in the area before the 21-year-old was shot. The source added too that the suspect admitted to being in possession of a firearm and that they had gone to the shop with the intention of carrying out a robbery.
At the time when this newspaper was in Sarah Johanna talking to the residents, several Police ranks had escorted the suspect to Pearl and he pointed them to the area where he disposed of the firearm.
The Police were able to recover the weapon and are continuing their investigations.
