Family members have positively identified the bodies of wanted men Rondell `Fineman’ Rawlins and Jermaine `Skinny’ Charles and post-mortem examinations are to be performed on Monday.
Charles and Rawlins were shot dead on Thursday by joint services ranks after they were cornered in an unfinished building in Kuru Kururu on the Soesdyke-Linden Highway after being pursued from Timehri. Another man Seon Grant was also killed in the confrontation. The joint services success in cornering Rawlins came after five long years of searching. During the period on the run he is alleged to have committed horrific slaughters including this year’s three massacres that claimed 31 lives.
Rondell `Fineman’ Rawlins
Though under the spotlight, too, for multiple murders, Skinny attracted more attention after he escaped from lawful custody on June 25, following a court appearance at the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court.
The mothers of both men have spoken on their deaths and even as both have come to accept it, they are hopeful that this indeed settles the crime situation in the country.
Rawlins’ mother, Margaret Rawlins, also lost her daughter, Marcyn King, in February this year at the hands of unknown gunmen. Rawlins said she learnt of the death of her son from a radio newscast yesterday. The woman said she recognized her son’s body right away and knew for sure that it was definitely him. She identified the body at the Georgetown Hospital Mortuary. She is hopeful that his death will bring an end to the crime situation in the country as she recounted that he had been blamed for every crime in the country.
The mother of Charles who prefers that her name not be mentioned told Stabroek News yesterday that from the time her son escaped from the Sparendaam lock-ups she prepared her mind to accept his death.
The woman told this newspaper that her sister identified her son’s body yesterday and there was no doubt that it was him. She said she was preparing for work on Thursday when she received a call relating that Seon Grant, who she had known from the East Bank area, had been killed. However a telephone call from a friend who kept questioning her about what she was doing seemed suspicious. “She ask me how I deh and I seh man I preparing for work and she say man Jermaine get kill and they didn’t want give me the message but I tell them I know they would have killed him and I accept his death,” the woman said.
The woman told this newspaper calmly that she had come to accept that her son would have never been brought in alive, and insisted that there was so much that he hid from her,
“I accept his death because I make my child but I didn’t make his mind. If I could have done more to change his attitude I would have. People know I tried to stop this from happening, but he meant that he wanted to go his own way,” she said.
The items found by the police after Rondell Rawlins and Jermaine Charles were killed. (Police photo)
The single-parent mother of four said her eldest child would have turned 23 next Thursday and never wanted to see her cry. When she visited him at the prison and tears came to her eyes he would try to end the visit immediately.
The woman said Charles never confided in her and added that strangers would come and say things to her that she never knew about her son.
“I know that people will talk and I cannot stop that but God knows that I tried my best and I never encouraged him with nonsense and nothing in my house was given to me by him, because I work hard for what I want,” she insisted.
The woman said she has not shed a single tear since learning of her son’s death and this was also the general mood of all of her relatives. However she said she could not bear to see his body and for this reason she sent her sister to identify the remains.
She had spoken with this newspaper several days after her son escaped from the lock-ups at Sparendaam and had denied that her son had ever made contact with her. She also denied police allegations that she and another of her children were involved in soliciting a firearm to aid the man’s escape.
The woman had told Stabroek News that from an early age Charles chose to follow a certain pattern of life and had left her home and lived with several friends before she started hearing of his involvement in high- profile criminal activities.
Charles has been charged along with Dwight Da Silva, Quincy Evans, Terrence John, Delwayne Carrington and a boy for a number of other murders.
He was charged along with Da Silva for the murder of Barbot Paul, the Kaneville, East Bank Demerara businessman who died outside his home on August 6. Charles was also accused of killing Devon Charles of Agricola on June 23, Guilford Henry on June 26, 2005 and 12-year-old Kevin Browne on March 18, 2006. He shared the murder charge for Browne with Dego France. Charles was also charged with Da Silva and Evans for being part of a group of men who allegedly murdered five Kaieteur News pressmen – Chetram Persaud, Eion Wegman, Richard Stewart, Mark Maikoo and Shazeem Mohamed in August 2006.
It is also alleged that they killed Wordsworth Grey on August 8. The 15-year-old boy, who was 13 years then, was also charged for that murder. Charles was then charged for the murders of Minister Satyadeow Sawh, Rajpat Sawh, Phulmattie Persaud and Curtis Robinson on April 22 at La Bonne Intention East Coast Demerara.
Rawlins was also linked to several raids on East Coast villages. But it was in February 2006 that Rawlins gained further notoriety. Police had said that he was part of the 15-member gang that brought terror to Agricola on February 26, 2006 killing eight people and attempting to blow up a gas station.
Reports at the time indicated that over a dozen gunmen under his command, reportedly dropped off in cars, blocked off a section of the road at Mc Doom and at Eccles and carried out a one-hour assault on residents of Agricola and Eccles.
Some of the men walked to Two Brothers Gas station where they launched an attack aimed at burning it down. They then unleashed a volley of shots at three MMC security guards whose vehicle was having air put into its tyres at the time. The three men, Sheldon Smartt, Cedric Dummett and Loris Semple died on the spot.
Rawlins was said to have unleashed the massacres this year after a female friend, Tenisha Morgan went missing.
Now that they were identified by family, I can safely say it was about time! Kudos to the JSOG. Now, the COP will be confirmed and Oliver can be released.
Why must Oliver Hinckson be released? Y’all always shout out on this forum that prisoners should get their day in due process, but now you calling for a prisoner to be released without due process.
Let Oliver Hinckson go thru the courts and get the sentence he deserves.
why should they let him go
I’m so please the family remove doubts from those who seems to be supporting the criminals .I must felicitate the GPF for free skinny it was one of the most wittiest thing they ever dont { just think about 3rd world cop} I know once skinny is free and link up with fine man he fine man day will be short .To all those who had want then to capture alive just remember seasonal criminal dont give out information ,can any one tell me of any criminal who ever confess to their crime comitted and where did they get their support from.Thankx again by the G/S for their good work done guys dont get too idle now because of the elimination of fineman and skinny.
good morning guyana and thank you joint services wonderful job hope i would be able to come home to guyana and have a good time
What is Guyana doiing to avoid the new generation for taking this pattern of life? where it seems as if turning to a life of crime is the easier way out of poverty…not like Im suggesting that the Government of Guyana has been doing that, yet Im first to suggest that they have a role to play in that. We have schools and institutions but are they properly maintained to inhance the fast learning minds… Is the subject of equality the top priority amoung the leaders…? Is the justice scale balance…? Food and other needy items made available and affordable? If it seems as though Im real off here on the topic of ‘fineman’ and them, Im not…Is GUYANA doing all in its power to avoid the younger minds form reaching to to the ‘fineman’ way of life.
Living in Trinidad, I think there is a greater need to address the out of control crime over there.
well said, this is much bigger than fine man skinny man, nasty man, and who ever else “man” there are out there. All we did was cut of a couple of branches, the root of the criminal elements are still deep and must be addressed. And I am not just one of those who sit at home and blog about how things are so bad in Guyana. In my own way I am giving back to my country and will continue to do so.
That the million dollar QUESTION. What is being done to prevent the next FINEMAN. And the answer is NOTHING.
like where u living any better
its just that all them lazy bums need to go look for work ans
d stop robing ppl.
congratulation to the joint service WELL DONE JOB i hope the keep up the good job and i hope the guyana government give the party of joint service that did the job a well paid of financially
Well, Well it’s finally over!!. All those critics who said that who said the psycopatic killers were a myth, finally will know that they are —positively identified— by their families.
Once again HATS OFF TO THE JOINT SERVICES!!! Job well done, BRAVO. But keep searching for the rest of them. !!Long Live GUYANA!! —-Land Of The Free—-
(P.S) The rest may (or) be planning a —–revenge attack—– on innocent civillians, for the demise of their infamous leader…………..
My condolonces to the mothers of the wanted /dead men.You have shown dignity in your acceptance of the situation.For the rest of the gang,it is still not too late to change your errant ways.If you continue along this path you will end up like them.Life is more precious than that.Reach deep inside and bring out the good and share it with the rest .Give your life over to the lord ask for forviveness and strength to follow his teachings.He is just a prayer away.
Mothers shoud not get condolonces, they all knew where their killer sons were, most Guyanese parents don’t give their children up, that’s the reason they carry through with sensless robbings and killings, I’m one hell of a different parent, told mine not to even have one thought of attacking anyone, because I personally would take him out b4 the cops get him, he believed me and kept out of trouble, so, I have no feelings 4 these parents and rest of families, they were in contact with them and would lie to everyone of their whereabouts, now go bury your bad eggs, they forced innocent and decent respectable parents to bury there’s remember the bloodshed they did.
these people are stupid they no the will get catch
You only died because you did not listen to the advise of your mom and friends.
……. the mom of “skinny ” Charles ,, i know is in pain ,, as any parent would be ,,
and i’m not going to,, in anyway,, add to her pain ,, but i must say this ,, at the very first sign of waywardness ,, of the child/children,, it is ur duty to make sure they get the right counseling to correct their maladjustment ,,i’m goin to go out on a limb here and suggest the church ,, the social services ,, the police ,, even the office of the President ,, no child is born to be the way he (skinny) lived his life ,, in every bad,, there is good !,, and in all of the bad ,, it requires the remedial treatment of qualified experts to re – program the mind of the incumbent ,, any,,, indeed all trees can and,, must be shaped to the desired quality only at a very tender age ,,
there is much to be taken from what the psychologists say abt,, what the child learns,, that is what he will live as an adult ,,Skinny was hardly an adult ,, and the very opposite could have been indoctrinated to him ,, the very same way he was manipulated and,, inveigled ,, to go “bad ” so too,, he could have ,,, with proper counseling ,, been made to adjust and become worthy of society,,,
GYs population is too meagre,, to have — like they say ,, 1 is too many — any child lost to such a frightening life that ultimately will end in pain and disgrace !……
well said bg
I agree with you but the services that we have here in the US. are not afforded to those living in Guyana, fot the most part. The system is so bad that things like school counseling are not available to kids in school, there are hardly anyone in private practise that does that. So we have to be careful when we dispense with the advise. But like I said I do agree with you. that’s why I think that the whole country needs to be overhauled.
I dont think that you are from this world. How could you make such statements. I sure that every body in your family are not the best. Is only so much a parent can do. Rethink and rewrite.