– call for justice
Relatives of Lennox Charles Gardener known as Junior Gardener and `Awedese’ who was shot dead by an off-duty policeman during an alleged robbery last week, are calling for justice over what they described as his brutal and untimely murder.
Gardener, who had several robbery matters before the court when he died, was shot multiple times shortly after reportedly robbing an Ambassador taxi driver at gunpoint of $5,000 last Monday.
The man, according to his relatives, had turned to God and was concentrating on finishing his court matters to start a fresh life but was always being hassled by the police.
His mother, Donna Massiah told this newspaper at their Lot 62 Hadfield Street home yesterday, “I still hurting over mah child’s death. I know de police murder me son. I need justice. This bullying ah people by de police must stop”.
Her eyes red and puffy from crying, Massiah said that after Tuesday when Gardener will be laid to rest, she would begin her quest for justice by first making a complaint to the police.
Massiah described her son as a loving person who had a good relationship with persons in the area, both young and old.
According to her, he changed his life and attended church occasionally. She said he sold beverages in the Stabroek Market area with her to earn a living and would become every afraid whenever he saw the police.
“My son fear the police with he life. He had criminal records yes but he told me several times that the police will kill him… My concern is that he was murdered and things were done to cover it up,” a grief stricken Massiah told this newspaper.
Stabroek News was unable to get a comment from the police on the woman’s allegations.
Police said in a press release that Gardener age 38 of an unknown address was fatally shot outside a taxi service at Lamaha Street, Queenstown.
Gardener, armed with a 16-gauge double-barrel shotgun, the release had said had robbed a taxi driver, who was sleeping outside the taxi service, of $5,000 when a scuffle ensued. Another taxi driver observed what was happening and raised an alarm. A policeman who is also a licensed firearm holder arrived on the scene and the suspect pointed the gun at him. He discharged three rounds in the direction of the suspect, hitting him about the body. He died before receiving medical attention at the Georgetown Public Hospital.
The shotgun and the stolen cash were found in his possession. A bicycle suspected to be his was found outside the base.
Massiah recalled that on October 11, Gardener borrowed a neighbour’s bicycle and left for an unknown location to purchase food. When he left, he handed her his cellular phone.
According to her, following his death she was informed that he had uplifted a gold chain which he had pawned and $60, 000 from several persons who owed him. Several persons could attest to this she said but nothing was found on Gardener. She questioned where the valuables could be.
She went on to tell this newspaper that she was subsequently informed that he had been shot and she searched the Georgetown Hospital but could not find him. She was later told by a woman that he was at the Lyken’s Funeral home.
A sister who identified the body said that the only injuries she saw after examining the body was a wound to his eye and another on his nose. She said that though the police told them he was in a scuffle, his jersey had no tears to testify to this. Added to that there were no bullet holes on his clothing.
The women said that a post-mortem examination conducted last Friday revealed that he was shot multiple times but it was a bullet to the heart that killed them. They said they were told that a bullet to the shoulder travelled to his heart and killed him. They were also told that he was shot in the foot.
The man’s sibling who was visibly upset said that only “a professional” could shoot someone in the eye. She said too that there was no gunshot wounds on her brother’s shoulder and foot as stated in the post-mortem report.
Massiah said she had received varying versions of what may have taken place that morning.
According to her, when she went to Alberttown Police Station, the police there told her that it was alleged that her son went to the taxi service and lay on a bench until the dispatcher had fallen asleep. She said the rank told her that the dispatcher woke when Gardener tried to put his hand into his pocket and a scuffled ensued between the two. The woman said she was told that a policeman who lived upstairs came down and her son who had a gun to his side was shot.
Since then she said several persons told her that he was “set up and murdered”. According to her, the taxi driver who is alleging that he was robbed is the person Gardener would travel with whenever he had to go home late.
“My concern now is that the story the police are giving me is not the truth,” the woman said.
She said she was told that her son was told to go to the base and wait for the taxi driver, but instead of the driver turning up the police arrived. According to her, her son was taken to an area on the East Coast where he was shot before being taken back to the Lamaha Street location.
Massiah said that on the day he was killed, he was scheduled to return to court for one of his cases. He had served time for ganja possession, she said adding that “he was being victimized in a lot of the cases”.
