T&T man with murder history shot dead

(Trinidad Express) A 33-year-old Rio Claro man with a history of guns, ammunition and murder charges was shot and killed on Tuesday night by two men.

Marcus Garcia, of Guayaguayare Road, was sitting in a car when his killers opened fire.

Police were told that at around 10 p.m., Garcia and his girlfriend, Amanda Roopnarine, 22, went to the home of her grandmother in Roble Grove Road, Rio Claro, to pick up her laundry.

Roopnarine told police she came out of the vehicle and was entering the house when the men, carrying shotguns, emerged from roadside bushes.

Garcia was shot in the head and upper body.

The gunmen ran off. Garcia died at the scene.

Police said Garcia was charged with two murders in Rio Claro, and had pending cases in the Rio Claro and Chaguanas Magistrates’ Courts.

Garcia had been charged for the murders of his stepfather, Arnold Nelson, and cousin Jason Garcia.

The cases were dismissed after key witnesses were killed before they could give evidence.

Garcia was released on bail three weeks ago on a charge of shooting at the home of his mother, Zita Wilson, in Khandan Road, Rio Claro.

He also had pending cases for possession of firearms and ammunition at the Chaguanas Magistrates’ Court.

Garcia’s murder follows several gang-related killings in Rio Claro in the last few months.

Two weeks ago, moneylender Kevon Mark, 26, was shot multiple times in the back.

On July 31, Richard Rivas, of Guayaguayare Road, was gunned down while he slept.

Police believe Rivas was killed because was involved in the Mark murder, and his accomplices were afraid he would confess about his involvement before he died from a terminal illness.

In April, another moneylender, McNeish Lum Young, 33, was gunned down in front of his home on Libertville Road after what police believe was a financial transaction gone sour.