Police hunt duo over teen’s execution

By Bhisham Mohamed

Police have launched a manhunt for Jermaine Simon and his aunt, Tessa of Bagotstown, East Bank Demerara (EBD) who were allegedly fingered in the execution of Ryan Sooklall, 19 of Lot 27 Providence, EBD on Sunday night.

The young man was reportedly shot twice in the back by the suspect who is also referred to as “Lapsy” and who had accused him of throwing an improvised bomb on his aunt’s house in Bagotstown. According to information, the teenager and his friends were at a shop in Parker Street, Providence when the man suspected to be in his 20’s stormed into the yard and opened fire. From reports received, Sooklall ran towards the backyard but he was shot twice from behind. He reportedly ran some distance but collapsed.

The incident occurred at about 18:35h but his body was found in a clump of bushes at about 21:30h by his friends who had launched a search party. An eyewitness, Brenda Robe told Guyana Times International that she was sitting on her front step when she saw the suspect running towards her home with a gun in his hands. By the time she could have raised an alarm, Simon started to shoot indiscriminately hitting the front of the shop with the first bullet. The now dead teenager, she added ran to save his life but the man discharged two bullets in his direction. At that time they were not aware that Sooklall was shot.

Robe added that the suspect escaped on a pedal cycle. According to her, as night approached efforts to locate Sooklall were futile. Several calls to his mobile went unanswered. “I left to make a report at the Providence Police Station but as I was there, I received a call telling me that they find Ryan… me and the Police hurried home but they de hurrying with he to the hospital”, the woman stated.

She later learnt that the teenager had two bullets wounds to his back. He was found a short distance away from where the shooting occurred. Robe reiterated that it was bright and as such got a clear view of the shooter. GTI understands when the Police visited the home of the suspect; the house was cleared of its belongings.

At the home of the teenager, his mother Shanaz Ali told this publication that on the day of the incident, she was at the creek with family members and it was while they were on their way to home, her daughter, Amanda received a call informing her about the shooting.

The motive is not yet established but she recalled a resident of Bagotstown called “Tessa” visited her home of Sunday morning along with a Police to enquire about her son but he was not at home. “They claim that he and he friend went to the village and trouble she and her family and if the Police can’t find he, they go find he and finish he off… and that is what exactly happen”, the woman stated.

The grieving mother stated that after they received the call, she visited the Diamond Hospital where she saw her son’s lifeless body and was told that by the time he arrived at the medical institution he was already dead.

She recalled seeing her son on Sunday morning during a visit to her relative’s home on the West Bank Demerara (WBD). They had requested that the young man joined them during the outing at the creek but he refused, she added. In tears, the woman dismissed a report in a section of the media which referred to her son as a member of a gang. She defended her son’s character and stated that he did not have to steal and be a part of a gang since he was living a luxurious life.

 “Everything he wanted, we gave him… He used to work with me at my store in Lombard Street and he would get paid… he has his room close to mine and after he comes home from work, he would go and meet he lil girl friends but most of the time, he stayed in his room listening to music”.

Contrary to her story, the Police have stated that the young man had several brushes with the law and is well known to law enforcement officers. He is allegedly part of ring that indulges itself in stealing mirrors and other parts from vehicles. However, his mother stated that her eldest son died about five years ago. He was killed in an accident and now to perform her second son’s funeral is heart rendering.

Meanwhile, the Police in a statement said investigators have since retrieved at least two spent shells at the scene. Sooklall’s execution is the third such incident to occur on the EBD in the past two weeks. Minibus driver, Beepat Taijram, 28 of Albouys Street, Albouystown was shot by two men in Campbell Street, Grove, EBD during a robbery two weeks ago. On Friday last, Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) Engineer Trevor Abrams was executed by a high powered assault rifle while driving along the Diamond Public Road. He was shot at least four times. The Police are continuing their investigations into the murders.