Large crowd attends Jupiter’s funeral

Steve Jupiter’s popularity was evident yesterday as hundreds of persons came out to pay their final respects to the man police have described as a ‘hit man’ and someone involved in all sorts of criminal activities.
‘Steve man’ as he was popularly called, was among five persons riddled with bullets in Cummings Lodge last Saturday. His three-year-old son and the child’s mother who were also killed during the shooting were laid to rest on Friday.

Tears were shed only by close relatives. As his body was being placed in the tomb, there were loud wails and several sobbing children were taken away from the graveside. Tempers flared at the Le Repentir cemetery as the casket with Jupiter’s remains was not opened to give viewers a final glimpse. From where this newspaper stood, the sounds of breaking glass could be clearly heard.

Stabroek News was later told that persons angry at not being able to see Jupiter for a final time  threw bottles, some of which landed on nearby tombs. At some point during the confusion, stones were used to damage the casket to prevent theft, this newspaper was informed.

Steve Jupiter (right)

Several angry persons who apparently knew Jupiter personally could be heard discussing why the casket was not open. “Dem bury he too earlier man. Bad man don’t go down so early!” one man could be heard saying.

Owing to the crowd and the chaos, many congregated on the roadway and reminisced about Jupiter, one woman saying that he had been playing with some children earlier in the day on which he was killed.
Earlier, there was a viewing and service at the Sandy’s Funeral Home before the remains of Jupiter were taken to his mother’s house at West Ruimveldt Front Road for further viewing.

However relatives decided not to open the casket because of the large crowd that had flocked to the area.
Traffic was at a virtual standstill, as mourners, some dressed in the traditional funeral colours along with red, stood on the Front Road. Relatives wore red ribbons.

One relative could be heard telling her friends that Jupiter looked as though he was asleep and that he had died with a smile on his face.

After spending about 20 minutes at the location, the hearse bearing the body left and drove through Albouystown before heading to Le Repentir. A sea of vehicles, bicycles and motor cycles, formed the procession.

As the procession moved along, many curious persons could be seen in their yards and at their windows, some of whom could be heard shouting, “Is who funeral? Is who funeral? Jupiter or Gordon?”

Around 7.35 pm on September  4,  police received a report of a shooting incident at Second Field South-east Cummings Lodge and on investigating found motor car PLL 2297 with several bullet holes and the bodies of Jupiter, his girlfriend Fiona Singh and their son, Neil Jupiter, along with Christopher Gordon and Sherwin Jerome called ‘Dice Head’ inside.

Initial reports were that Jupiter, who resided at Industry, East Coast Demerara went to pick up Singh and the toddler from a relative’s home in the area and as they were driving out persons opened fire on them.
The three men died on the spot while the other two died at the Georgetown Hospital while receiving medical attention.

Police Commissioner Henry Greene subsequently told the media that investigators believed that the woman and the child were in the wrong place at the wrong time. He said that the men were the target as the gunmen had been following the vehicle with a view to seizing the perfect opportunity.

According to Greene seven kilogrammes of cocaine that went missing may be the motive behind the attack.

He had said that the latest information was that one of the slain men had collected nine kilogrammes of cocaine which had come out from Venezuela and was to hand it over to a “certain group.”

However, only two kilogrammes were delivered and the man claimed that the rest had been seized by the police, Greene said, adding that this story was apparently not believed.

This may have led to the shooting incident at Cummings Lodge, which claimed five lives.

The commissioner added too that Jupiter was known to be involved in criminal activities as was Gordon, who was deported from the United States in 2003 for narcotics offences. Nothing much is known of Jerome.

In the days after the incident, the relatives of Singh and Jupiter had repeatedly said that they had no idea what may have sparked the attack.