A teenager accused of murdering dredge operator Regerton Simon called ‘Baba’, who was gunned down in an attack on Septem-ber 5 was yesterday remanded to prison when he appeared before Acting Chief Magis-trate Melissa Robertson at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.
The allegation is that on September 5 at Barama River, North West District, Sherland Allick, 19, of Station Street, Matthew’s Ridge murdered Simon.
The metal detector operator was not required to plead to the indictable charge when it was read to him by the Acting Chief Magistrate.
When given a chance to respond, the defendant explained to the court that on the day in question, he was on his way to work when he was stopped by three men who asked him to take them “up the river” with his boat.
He said that he took the men to a point but along the way they said that they wanted to go to a place called `Dragger’ and he told them that he couldn’t go that far. The men, he said, then ordered him to take them to `Dragger’ or else he was going to be shot.
The defendant added that the three men told him that they wanted him to accompany them to `Dragger’ since they wanted to execute a robbery and he, [Allick] was more familiar with the area than they were.
The accused said that he persistently told the men that he could not allow himself to be associated with such an act. He said he then heard gunshots and then he proceeded to make his way back to Bamboo Landing where he had initially encountered the trio.
The unrepresented Allick was later remanded to prison and ordered to attend the Matthew’s Ridge Magistrate’s Court on November 3.
According to initial reports reaching Stabroek News, in the September 5 attack; Simon of Lot P 73 Guyhoc Park was killed on the spot while Malvin Edwards, 33, of East La Penitence, was badly injured when gunmen launched a brazen attack on their dredge. Four Brazilian workers including a pregnant woman managed to escape without injury.
According to reports, the incident may have stemmed from more than a conflict between residents in the area and those operating a dredge. Reports were that the September 5 incident stemmed from a water pollution conflict those on the dredge had with persons living in an area know as ‘Punta’ and that might have been the cause of the shooting.
Crime Chief Seelall Persaud had said that the police were focusing their investigation on a conflict between the residents in the area and those operating the dredge, but said also that the investigators were still “open” on the case but had said the dispute kept “showing up” as a motive.
A source had told Stabroek News that like several other villages, the residents of Punta had a problem with the dredge as its activities were polluting the river, their only source of water. The source said that reports were made to the regional administration. (Femi Harris)
