The three young men who were slain on South Road last month were all part of the Albouystown based “Hot Skull” group, which, according to Crime Chief Seelall Persaud, has been “disrupted”; with a dozen more of its members charged over serious crimes and several convicted for armed robbery.
Persaud made this disclosure during his presentation of the Christmas Policing Plan 2013 which was launched at the Police Officers’ Mess Eve Leary yesterday.
Cousins Jermaine Canterbury, 21, and Mark Anthony Joseph, called “Two Grand”, 19, along with Romario Gouveia, 19, all residents of Albouys-town, were killed on October 12 during what police said was a shootout near the K&VC Hotel. The cousins died soon after the shooting while Gouveia, who had a gunshot wound to the jaw, died suddenly two days later. Eyewit-nesses to the shooting had disputed the police’s version saying that the men were unarmed and were made to lie face down before they were shot.
Police had said that two firearms and a wig were recovered from the South Road scene and that all three men had been before the court on armed robbery charges.
Persaud told the gathering which comprised senior and junior officers, the media, members of the business community and other stakeholders that the symbol of the group is a skull tattoo with decorations around it.
With the use of a PowerPoint Presentation, he showed a drawing of the symbol and pictures of one of the gang members with the drawing tattooed to his back and on his arm.
Stabroek News made contact with the relatives of the cousins who denied that they were part of a criminal gang. However, a relative told Stabroek News that Canterbury did have a tattoo of a skull and a tattoo of a gun. The latter was on his chest and according to the relative the skull tattoo may have been on either his back or his arm. The relative said it was while he was incarcerated over a robbery under arms offence that other inmates “put it on him”.
Relatives said Joseph had no such tattoo on his body; they would have known as he often walked around without a shirt. They said while he had tattoos they were letters and not drawings.
Meanwhile, Persaud said four members of the group were recently sentenced to 60 months in jail for armed robbery. He was referring to the Allicock brothers: Orlando, 19; Kevin, 18; Leonard, 27 and Chavez, 21.
The quartet was in August found guilty of the armed robbery of an Albouystown shopkeeper. Magistrate Judy Latchman later handed down the sentence at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, where the men’s co-accused, Terrence Bastiani, was found not guilty and freed.
The charge against the Allicocks and Bastiani had stated that on February 9, at Lot 33 James Street, Albouystown, being armed with a gun, they robbed Amanda Kyte of a quantity of jewellery, cash and a shoulder bag, totalling $687,000. They had all pleaded not guilty to the joint charge.
Persaud showed another slide with eight other members of the group, who have been charged with seven counts of robbery under arms, two counts of illegal firearm and one count of assault. They are Vernon Benn, 28; Damion Allicock, 24; Collis King, 21; Muammar Jabbar, 26; Ronald Kissoon called `Rannie’; Roger Dummett called ‘Mow’, 29; Osapho Johnson, 20 and Odinga Chase, 27. Persaud said an arrest warrant was issued for Jabbar; he failed to return to court after being granted bail.
Two years and counting
Responding to questions from members of the media, Persaud said, “I wouldn’t say that we have dismantled [the Hot Skull group] but significantly disrupted [it] and our investigations are continuing.”
Following the killing of the trio, police had made no mention of them being part of a gang. All that was said was that they were known and were about to commit a robbery. Asked why the police are often reluctant to share certain information with members of the media, Persaud responded that they often have to make a case-by-case decision. “We aren’t reluctant to release information but we do consider what we release in every case; how that information is going to impact our next operation; how it is going to impact the public and so on,” he said adding that he doesn’t see telling the public there is a gang in Albouystown as a big concern as many gun-related crimes in that area are often highlighted in the media.
“So the public knows that and if we were saying at that time that these are part of a gang that is being knitted…. It would have impacted on something shortly after then,” he said, adding that ranks think about the fact that those killed in police confrontations have families.
Asked how long the “Hot Skull” group had been in existence, Persaud said investigators first noticed it less than two years ago. “It took us a while gathering intelligence before we start putting together a response,” he said.
According to the crime chief, the question of addressing gangs has always been contentious for the simple reason that there is no internationally accepted definition for a gang and therein lies one of the problems. He said the Guyana Police Force’s determination of the presence of a gang is when there are three or more persons and they have a common agenda.
He said these men know each other, are willing to take the risk involved in the commission of a crime and drive around looking for an easy target. According to Persaud, beyond sharing the loot, they have no interest in each other’s welfare.
