Bandit killed, cop hurt in robbery call response
-- another bandit in custody, arms& ammo found
Guyana Chronicle
April 6, 2004
ONE bandit is dead, another is in police custody, a police constable was wounded and a large quantity of arms and ammunition was recovered after a quick response police patrol caught up with the bandits in Success, East Coast Demerara, Sunday evening.
Dead is Gopaul Chowtie of Western Hogg Island, Essequibo River.
Chowtie's accomplice, whose name has not been released, is being held.
The police were responding to a phone call from an unidentified resident who informed police that what appeared to be a robbery was taking place or had just taken place in the village.
According to reports reaching the Guyana Chronicle the bandits robbed the Jules Chabrol family of an undisclosed sum of cash and jewelry, and had also taken away the family's firearm before escaping.
The victims were tightlipped about what actually transpired during the robbery.
But reports are that Mr. Chabrol and his wife had just secured their premises on returning home, when they were pounced upon by two armed bandits. The suspects began to beat the couple, at the same time forcing them into the house. The bandits then tied up Mr. Chabrol and demanded cash and jewellery. These the couple handed over to them. They also took away the Chabrol's firearm - a licensed shotgun and a revolver with matching ammunition, according to police.
A police patrol in the vicinity, responding promptly to a call, cornered the men in a chicken farm just as they were attempting to make good their escape.
A shootout ensued and Gavin Ricknatuh, a constable stationed at Sparendaam Police Station, was shot in the abdomen during the exchange. According to the Public Relations Officer, Assistant Superintend John Sawyers, the constable is in a stable condition at the Georgetown Public Hospital.
Police said one of the bandits was arrested and taken into custody. Chowtie, the other bandit, was found hiding in the yard with a wound to his body and subsequently died at the Georgetown Public Hospital after being taken there by the ranks.
A cordon of the area by the police led to the uncovering of the following:
* One Rossi Revolver with 5 live rounds
* One Savage combination Shot Gun with one live cartridge
* Two matching magazines and 57 live 7.62 x 39 ammunition
* One .32 Taurus Pistol with eleven matching rounds
* One spent shell
* A large quantity of local and foreign currency
* One ounce of raw gold
* 2 pairs of black gloves
* A wallet containing a National I.D. Card and firearm license
* One holster and hood, among other items.
Encouraged by their find, the police ranks continued to comb the area and saw Chowtie with gunshot wounds to his body in a nearby yard.
Police said a .32 Taurus Pistol found at the scene belonged to Chowtie. They said Chowtie was charged in 1991 for treason and was known to the police for piracy on the high seas.
The robbery call to the police came just 24 hours after Home Affairs Minister Ronald Gajraj had urged Community Policing Groups and members of communities along the East Coast to be more proactive in the fight against crime.
Speaking at a police-organized meeting at Cove and John Police Station on Sunday, Minister Gajraj told members of the CPGs they had no choice but to be more proactive in the fight against crime if this scourge is not to continue to plague several areas along the East Coast, especially the lower East Coast.
"Sometimes the fear of being the victim of a crime can be worse than being the actual victim of a crime," Minister Gajraj asserted.
He urged CPGs not to wait until the crime is committed to act, but rather to be alert in a committed effort to 'nip any such act in the bud'.