Report on army/gunmen encounter prepared
Stabroek News
November 9, 2002
The army has prepared a report on an encounter several of its ranks had on October 28 with gunmen on the East Coast who had earlier shot dead a February 23 escapee and another man.
Sources say the report is expected to clarify whether a policeman was indeed with the gunmen at the time as has been alleged in several circles.
The army report was completed after the debriefing of a sergeant who was said to have spoken to the men after the shootings of prison escapee Mark Fraser and businessman Lance Roach. Numerous questions have been raised about the identity of the gunmen who did these shootings and several eyewitnesses have said that at least one of them identified himself as a policeman.
Fraser was buried yesterday at Goed Intent, West Bank Demerara, ironically in the same village where his namesake slain Police Superintendent Leon Fraser was buried on April 6. The police had said that the escapees were responsible for Fraser's death.
Meanwhile, the police say they also have the right to question the solider if he has information pertinent to an ongoing criminal investigation. Police Public Relations Officer, Assistant Superintendent, David Ramnarine had told this newspaper that the soldier will like any other person with information relevant to an ongoing probe, be requested to make himself available to the police.
However a Guyana Defence Force (GDF) official told Stabroek News that the police could not question any army rank without first approaching its intelligence unit. Furthermore the rank may have to be accompanied by a member of the intelligence unit.
Questioned as to whether the army debriefed the rank, the source said that this had been done and a report of the findings had been prepared. Sources have questioned why the police had not yet made an attempt to verify whether one of its ranks was among the gunmen since this issue had arisen since October 28.
Acting Commissioner of Police, Floyd McDonald had at a press conference on October 28, said that members of the force had not participated in the shooting at Annandale. Businessman and former policemen, Franklyn Solomon is also suspected to have been gunned down by the same group of men that killed Fraser and Roach.
Questions also continue to be asked about the white T1-Toyota Carina PHH 5642 which the gunmen had abandoned at the entrance to Agriculture Road, Mon Repos shortly after the shooting.
The car, according to sources, is registered to a city resident however police have not been able to locate that individual. The sources have further told Stabroek News that there has been a query over whether the car was hijacked prior to the October 28 events. Police when asked yesterday said that they had no report of any hijacking involving PHH 5642.
Witnesses at Mon Repos on October 28 recalled the occupants of the car engaging in a conversation with a detachment from the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), who had caught up with them when they stopped the car. The three men who they said were heavily armed had placed their weapons on the hood of their vehicle when they spoke to the soldiers.
It is further said that the men identified themselves as police which allowed them to be given clearance to continue their journey in another vehicle. One of the group is also reported to have produced a police identity card which was shown to the soldiers allowing them to proceed unhindered.
Witnesses had also claimed that the men in seeking transportation said they were chasing prison escapee Shawn Brown.
They subsequently boarded a taxi driven by a Lusignan resident which left in the direction of the city.
Meanwhile a police press release on Thursday said that one of the guns found on wanted man, Adrian Greene, a .32 Taurus pistol with six live rounds belonged to Solomon who was a licensed firearm holder.
Greene was fatally wounded on Tuesday evening following a confrontation with police on D'Urban Street in which it is said that he fired on a police patrol.
The release also said that another weapon found on Greene, a .32 Taurus Millennium pistol was traced to kidnapped city businessman Kamal Seebarran.
Seebarran was kidnapped on October 1 and released a day later after his family is believed to have paid a ransom.
