Hutson turns up at Eve Leary
Sees attempt to tarnish character
Businessman Clayton Hutson turned himself in to investigators yesterday, accompanied by two lawyers, to be questioned in connection with an arms and ammunition find.
Police had issued wanted bulletins for Hutson, Trinidadian Joseph Aboud and Frankie Ross last Friday for questioning over an allegation about the illegal importation of firearms, prompted by the discovery of a cache of high-powered weapons, hundreds of rounds of ammunition and other items at a Regent Street, Bourda house. Aboud had turned himself in on Tuesday and up to press time yesterday, he was still in police custody. Ross remains at large.
Hutson turned himself over to officers at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters, Eve Leary around 10 am yesterday in the company of attorneys-at-law Joseph Harmon and Nigel Anthony.
According to a statement, which the lawyers released to the media, Hutson, “who is a businessman with significant investments in the hinterland of Guyana reported that since Thursday, September 25, he was in the hinterland attending to his business… [He] only became aware that there was an allegation made against him, which the police were investigating, when he returned to Georgetown on Tuesday”.
Aboud had also said that he was away in the interior.
The attorneys in their statement condemned the practice of the police to publish photographs and other biographic details of citizens even before any significant efforts are made to locate them.
Hutson has denied any knowledge of the allegation being made against him and published widely in the newspapers.
“He considers this another attempt to tarnish his character particularly having regard to the chronology of past police matters also published in the newspapers. Mr Hutson is confident that this attempt to link him with criminal activity will not succeed,” the statement read.
After the bulletins were issued, police entered a Cummings Street residence in search of Aboud, who had been held in Nandy Park house with several others in 2006 when the army descended on the property in search of the missing AK-47 rifles. He was allowed to remain in the country on the basis of his marriage to a Guyanese.
From information received by this newspaper none of Hutson’s residential or business properties was searched. Since then there has been no official word from the police relating to the investigation.
Meanwhile, Stabroek News learnt from a legal source yesterday that a 16-year-old girl was arrested at her East Bank Demerara home on Tuesday in connection with the probe and brought to the city without the knowledge of her parents.
The girl was reportedly held because of allegations that she has some sort of connection with Hutson, but this newspaper was told that the girl has denied this.
Police confiscated the girl’s cell phone to aid them in their investigations. Up to press time she was still being held at the East La Penitence Police Station.
The three women
The day after the discovery of the arms and ammunition, three women who are occupants of the house and who are closely related to one of the men being sought, were arrested. They were grilled by investigators, but repeatedly denied any knowledge of the items found at their home. The items were reportedly found in a plastic barrel that was in the yard.
In a surprising turn of events the women were released on station bail on Sunday and are required to report to the police on a regular basis.
Sources close to the investigation said that it would be difficult at this stage to determine if charges would be brought against the women.
Police could not say why the women were released in the early stages of an investigation that could crack a major criminal ring operating here. Observers have raised questions as to why this was done without a charge being laid, even though the illegal items were found on the premises where the trio had been living for years.
A legal source told Stabroek News that this move by the police was a strange one, although the law does provide for someone to be released under special circumstances. The source said there must have been extra special circumstances, since they were released without a charge related to unlawful possession or knowledge of the illegal items being laid.
There are suspicions that the weapons were recently imported and were just being temporarily stored at the house. Ballistics tests were completed and showed that the weapons were not used in the commission of any crime here.
Sources said that contrary to what was being said, the weapons were not discovered by the members of the joint services nor were they found in a barrel.
Reports are that owing to a “falling out”, an army official was informed about the items and a bag containing same was handed over to him on Wednesday. The bag, which was being stored in the house, was later handed over to a senior officer. The military turned up at the house and searched it without even a policeman being present. Under the law, this is an illegal act.
The army subsequently informed the police of the discovery and they went to the home and collected a barrel that was in the yard.
It is unclear why this was done but this newspaper understands that it belongs to Ross, who would frequent the house but does not reside there.
Police, in a release issued last Thursday, said that members of the joint services searched the Lot 120 Regent Street, Bourda, house around 6.30 pm on Wednesday. There they said they discovered an AK-47 rifle with the number filed off, a pistol with a silencer, a Mossberg shotgun, 713 rounds of ammunition of various calibre, 7 magazines for different firearms, a green camouflage water bottle and a green canvas pouch in a barrel.
Here we go, some thing fishy went on .Would we ever know, or is it the road to another cover up.According to SN there is no accuracy at this time’
wow what a shame,the women were release on station bail and they lived there for year.At least one of them knew what was going on, but i think this is the phanton gang stuff so give it two more weeks and you’ll hear nothing else.
Yes!, we all know that Guyanese women r very curious and fast, a barrel would not be there without their knowledge, if one woman knew, all of them knew, they should not have been placed on station bail and allowed to return, that’s giving them time together, to sort the story out, if it was a man, he would have been locked up, women cry out for equality, they should have the same as men, lock them up, until someone of them sing, I’m a woman and not afraid to say the latter, some women thinks that because of their gender, they should receive a different handling, if they are involved in a crime, they should face the same fate, what a shame, shame to call them my country women.
Oh boy the news media is confusing the crap out of me, now i’m been told that the guns and ammunitions find was not found by the joint forces, it was reported by a member who had a falling out with another member who told some one else, and the search was illegal, what the hell is going on here. SN please give the correct info please to much confusing piecemeal is given. Who is the real culprit here i guess if it was some one in buxton they would have been under the jail by now.
at least you got the part right about buxton also the weapons would have been linked to some murder or murders and the women their relatives male and female would have been arrested the entire neighborhood locked down with allegations of links to the opporsition and the usualpres briefing by government officials well you all know the drill by now anyway we know what to expect by now no charges will be laid or if any the defendants will make a few court appearances and thats it phantom run things.
mr..ggreeeene wha you and comrade rohhee think about this matter??
Bloggers i’m going to tell you what is happening here. Stabroek News has more than one reporters covering this story and as a result we are getting conflicting reports. Stabroek News you need to assign this story to one reporter and all other information received should be pass to this individual where it will be analyze and presented in a such manner that it maintains a great degree of consistency.
The Mistake Stabroek News made, and i mention this when the story broke, was to regurgitate every thing from the police press statement and present it to their readers without doing any form of investigation on their own. This in my opinion is poor journalism. Now because of this mistake, coupled with the many LEAD reporters they have on this story, we the readers are now left with the mountainous task of figuring this one out for ourselves.
Good Job SN.
Hey …………the same law that was put in place to condem you is the same law that protects you. So……who’s better at the game wins.
One turned himself in from the Interior:::This one truned himself in from the Hinterland…Wow !!!!!! Interior + Hinterland =Bush::::::Looks like big big business going on in the bush…..We await the next one….I wonder where he will turn himself in from:::Jungle ??????? ehehehehehehe
Nice observation evileyes!!! lmbo
Even if it is true that multi-businessman Clayton Hutson was in the ‘bush’ at the time of the wanted bulletins, I guarantee you that he has continuous mobile phone connections with Georgetown so it is clear his statement that he did not know the forces were hunting him is extremely suspect!
evileye i love you to dead you always make my day lol lol lol lol
Just like the phantom that did not exist..ha! this will will cease to exist in a few!
Sounds like another Roger Khan and the subordinates in the Better Hope
incident. This smells of the Phantom Squad. Case closed, the search was illegal and no one was found holding the guns, so no one had possession of them. This is Guyana fellas.
“Well yuh know dat dem bannas aint been deh, suh nobady kyant seh is dem guns an ammunishun, suh wha yall tink gon happun”
1) Well they turn themselves in with their Attorneys so they are still alive
2) They will be questioned and released on their own recognisance
3) File sent to DPP for advice
4) File returned with DPP advice “No charges to be laid”
5) You all know why right. they are businessmen and offer tokens of appreciation
Very logical deduction……well put……………
i would like to add another……
6) DDP Recomends: Since them guys turn themselves in them int guiltty let we give them a chance.
You know it get a saying dat ” yuh does gah set uh mouth weh the soup a falll” …..the way is see it is, the whole judical system in guyana belly fulll….