The third man killed by police on Thursday evening in Prashad Nagar has been positively identified as Toney Singh of 19 Princes Street Lodge and also of Independence Boulevard.
Earlier reports had identified the man as Wendell Robin, but police confirmed his correct name yesterday in a press release, adding that the deceased was freed on July 31, 2002 on the charge of murdering Troy Martin in 1998. Dillon George, another man killed on Thursday, was also acquitted on a charge of murder only a month ago.
Meanwhile, the two teenage girls trapped in the Deobirana Avenue house where Shawn Brown, George and Singh were hiding out remain in police custody as searches and investigations continue.
A senior police officer said the girls, aged 18 and 19, claimed that they were taken to the house by a friend who knew Singh well. They were subjected to further questioning yesterday and reportedly gave statements to the police.
The release added that the police have recovered one Beretta submachine gun, 68 rounds of 7.62x39 ammunition, one round 9mm ammunition, one matching Beretta magazine, two AK-47 magazines, two cellular phones, one wig, one pair of boots and one case for a rocket launcher. The release also stated that there was evidence that at least three hand grenades were thrown at the police and fragments were being analysed.
Two police officers who were injured in the operation remain in stable condition, according to medical sources. Constable Outar was rushed to a private city hospital after he was shot in the neck. A 19-year-old woman, shot while trying to protect her two siblings, was discharged on the same night and has returned home. She was actually on a visit to her cousin in Prashad Nagar at the time.
Stabroek News returned to the neighbourhood yesterday and was told that the confrontation had actually begun at a white house located at Lot 200 Deobirana Street and not at 112 Amla Avenue as earlier stated.
Police were at both houses on Amla and Deobirana Streets yesterday conducting searches and questioning residents. Stabroek News was told that the white house belonged to a man who is mechanic and that two women had rented the house from him. It was reported that police were looking for the man but this could not be confirmed with the Police Public Relations Office.
An eyewitness who is also a resident of the area told this newspaper that he saw when the policemen entered the area and began cordoning off the two streets. He stated that he was walking along Deobirana Street and two officers ordered him to go home. The man stated that shortly after he arrived home he heard rapid gunfire. He said he could not tell who began shooting first, but he had seen a man in the house earlier in the day. According to the eyewitness, for over 30 minutes the white house came under heavy gunfire. A short while later he saw two men who he believed were George and Brown running through the back door and jumping over the chainlink fencing and galvanised sheets on their way to Lot 112.
The eyewitness noted that the criminals were hardly seen shooting while on the run and seemed unaware of the extent of the police dragnet resulting in them being cornered by the policemen who had taken up positions along Amla Avenue, east of Deobirana Street.
The man said that when the two were killed in the corner of the lot, police on Deobirana Street continued to fire at the white house. Singh ran out and was shot just in front of a white car on the street.
Some residents whose houses came under heavy gunfire from stray bullets during the siege said that a number of their windowpanes and home appliances had been dented.
The owner of the house at Lot 112 was adamant that her house was not used by the criminals. She said after the men had scaled the four fences they apparently were looking for an unoccupied house and as a result they ended up in her yard. Stabroek News was told that the house was under repair and had been unoccupied for about three years. The back door had been ripped open by the lawmen. According to the owner, the police searched the house because they felt that criminals might have gone inside. She repeated that at no time had she ever associated with bandits. Other residents in the street confirmed that two of the three men were killed at the corner of the lot and at no time had they entered the house.
Jurors on July 31, 2002 had acquitted Singh of the January 3, 1998 murder of minibus conductor, Troy Martin. He was alleged to have fatally stabbed Martin during a confrontation. Justice Ian Chang who had presided over the case had warned Singh after he was freed to exercise caution regarding his future actions. Efforts yesterday to contact his relatives proved futile.