A man fitting the description of one of the perpetrators involved in Wednesday’s armed robbery on the Agricola public road during which Melissa Payne was shot dead, was picked up in the village hours after the incident.
Melissa Payne
This disclosure was made by Acting Police Commissioner Henry Greene who told Stabroek News yesterday that three persons were picked up in a house in Agricola.
This newspaper understands that shortly after the shooting, armed ranks went into the village to look for suspects and saw three men running. They were pursued into a house and were later arrested.
Two of the men were taken to the Georgetown Hospital that night to be treated for cuts and bruises they sustained while attempting to flee the area.
During a visit to the area following the incident, a resident had complained that he had no faith in the police because they do not respond to reports of incidents in the village.
Commenting on this yesterday, Greene said that many of the residents are scared of the criminals and as such do not cooperate with the police.
Police said in a release last evening that they are searching for a fourth man, in connection with the incident.
Up to press time last evening the trio was still in police custody.
According to reports 27-year-old Payne of Lot 56 Den Amstel, West Coast Demerara and her reputed husband John Fraser also known as David Fraser were proceeding to Georgetown when they were forced to stop shortly after 8 am when the canter they were in encountered a mechanical problem.
Within minutes and while Fraser, a contractor, was attempting to fix the problem, gunmen who were standing in an old shop across the road came over and menaced them.
One approached Fraser, another went to the woman and the third acted as a lookout. Fraser managed to run into oncoming traffic but Payne was unlucky as a gun had already been pressed against her side and she was commanded to hand over the handbag she was clutching.
From all accounts, the woman attempted to escape and was shot in the process while the men fled through a nearby alleyway with the bag which contained more than $100,000 and the two gold chains she was wearing.
Payne who sustained a single gunshot wound under her right armpit was pronounced dead on arrival at the Georgetown Hospital. Fraser escaped unhurt.
According to reports the three men involved in the incident are known criminals who would attack unsuspecting villagers late at night. They would hide out in an old shop at the entrance of the street leading to the back of the village and would pounce on persons as they passed, robbing them of valuables and in some cases carrying out sexual assaults. Two of the youths are living in the Agricola while the third is from a community farther up the East Bank but spends lots of time in the village, this newspaper was reliably informed.
If they “rough up” these men they will know if they did the killing, but it sounds like they were rough up before they were arrested.
Don’t be fooled by this headline beacuse many of you may not know how the police are in capturing suspects. They will just hold anyone and say u are a suspects, maybe that’s why the men ran because they know how dumb the popo are.
Hold and Brutalise them!! if they don’t know of the womans/murder robbery, they would know some other robbery/killings/crimes, WHY RUN.
Please the police are not fools they have intelligence who gives them profile/pictures etc.
So don’t worry with those false eulogy..
All this knowledge about these three low lives was out there, and nothing was done. This is mind boggling. The villagers failed Melissa. The police failed Melissa. The man Melissa was with, failed Melissa. The government failed Melissa. Melissa, RIP. Very soon, the bell cryor will announce.
“Hear ye, Hear ye. Anarchy in Guyana. Charles Bronsons needed.”
Maybe Guyana needs another holiday. A NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER.
It’s either Devine Intervention, or Mr. Bronson.
Forbes, just yesterday my comments on this said incident were………………….
“How complicated is it for the GPF to go undercover and establish decoys in these areas?
A cop in plain clothes with a dangling chain or flashing some dollars should do the trick.
Does the Government need to hire an overseas consultant to figure this out, while Green and company “throw back,” and live large off our taxes?”
My friend, I would give a million dollars if someone could tell me why the GPF behaves in such a “brainless” manner. They have given new meaning to the word REACTIVE.
Indeed the system failed Melissa as well as the scores of Guyanese who died at the hands of these imbeciles.
Why dont you go as a decoy? Anyone failed is the hogs that caused guyana to be like this today. They want to live big with others money.
Lets hope it is the right person the caught ????? My condolence to the family. So sad .Look how long these persons hiding out there ,until death then the move so many buses have been robbed for the past weeks nothing was done until death.
Does it make sense that a bandit who just did a heinous crime would still be loitering around the village, waiting to be picked up????????????? Makes a lot of sense right!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, our dear “foolice” How smart they are thinking that we are so dumb!!!!
I hope these are the men and they have a speedy trial and sent where they belong for a long time. People must be free to move around without wondering if they are going to reach home alive at the end of the day.
Mr green , if he was in the shop then the owner certainly know these individual, let him identify them, if he refuses then charge him with accessory to the crime, or harboring criminals.
step up the pressure and others will be reluctant to do the same.
you gotta be a mad man, it jus suh yuh does charge people…….like de man is a battery or wuh?
Old shop,freespeech,it means out of action,in Guyana…I said to you in my blogg yesterday,read the article!!!
A shop is a public place, can’t blame the owner.
Having read the views of my fellow Bloggers,and other news media,I have concluded that it was a strange co-incidence for that vehicle to break down in that particular area while this woman was carrying that amount of cash.Mr Green’s detectives should interrogate this gentleman thoroughly.
It was a strange co-incidence and really unfortunate that their vehicle broke down in front of Agricola but i don’t think her man had anything to do with this incident. I hope the guys the “foolice” caught, if they are guilty, they be put away for a long time.
My condolences to Melissa’s family. May Jehovah grant her soul eternal rest!
FREESPEECH, the news seh, is a old shop! it did not say that it was open for business!! meaning, it is just a old bruk dung place!! no body a run it! it is in ruin!! there is no shopkeeper!! the only people fuh answer question, is dem killer who does do deh criminal business at the OLD SHOP!! OR PERHAPS, BACOO AH DO BUSINESS DEH TOO!! MAYBE ME WRANG!!
the report was that they stop between two shops, the animals/menace to society were in one of them.
i do hope that the police has the right culprits, losers that did this crime, even if they dont i think they should intorogate the men in custody because word goes around in the criminal world as to who was involved.
tiger..that was before roger kahn…there is no way of tracing anything or anyone anymore…the people who used to control the streets have all been taken out,so the criminal world is now out of control,is every man for themselves…vicious and ruthless,there is no more “regula”,no one to ask for information or help!!
It would appear that these criminals are recruited , trained and protected
by a certain political group who seem bent on putting pressure on the
Government and the hard working police force to treat them like innocent lamb
Mr. President, you are doing alot, while certainly much more could have been done with the support of these accomplice of the criminal gangs.
If it becomes necessary, then whoever is cooperating and assisting these criminals regardless of their office, should face the consequences.
Act now. Tomorrow will be late
My openion is people get involved in crime because they want to. There are always other alternatives. No matter how much money you give me I will not murder another human being. My life is as goog as the other person’s. Having said that why is race and political connections have to get into this SIR.?.
My feeling in this case, is, criminals just saw an opportunity and took advantage of the situation.
Dave, It’s exactly as that!! they do have their protectors/criers/bosses who want’s them to create zozobra en Guyana.
no wonder guyana can’t advance, with your backwards thinking, it’s always politics.
Kudos to the gpf for apprehending the three suspects, and i hope they are the are the right people being held, and if so let justice be served by the laws of guyana.