The dead man, identified as Kurt John, aged 24, of 154 Brusche Dam and 159 Company Road, Buxton, was pronounced dead on arrival at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) yesterday.

Police say John, on whom was found a .32 Taurus (snub-nose) pistol with 12 rounds of live ammunition, was wanted in connection with the murder of Nolan Anderson, 22, of Friendship, who died during an altercation with the suspect over a pig on October 24, 2002.

An army release says the patrol came under fire from four men, who used a tree as shield, as the patrol approached. The ranks returned fire, wounding John.

Another man suspected to be from the group of four was later cornered and arrested, while the rest escaped into the cane fields.

Meanwhile, a search conducted on an abandoned shop on Company Road, south of the Railway Embankment, resulted in a number of articles, including two sleeping bags, one green military belt, two pairs of boots, one 30-inch Sharp television set and one tape-recorder and speaker being seized by patrol ranks.

The army release added that information garnered by resource personnel from the GDF Intelligence Department revealed that the shop, which was searched on numerous occasions in the past, was a suspected lookout and early warning point for criminals.

In the three days since the army and the police began joint operations in Buxton, the ranks have apprehended a total of 15 suspected criminals, including a woman believed to have been involved in last week’s kidnapping of De Hoop businessman Viticharan Singh, another woman said to be the cook for the criminals, and Charles Brown, the brother of prison escapee Shawn Brown.