Better Hope man shot in Plaisance gunplay

A Better Hope man is now nursing gunshot wounds after he was shot allegedly by a man who is wanted for a string of robberies early yesterday morning.

Jomo Lewis, 34, of Plaisance Squatting Area, East Coast Demerara was shot to his shoulder and abdomen and was admitted to the Georgetown Public Hospital for treatment, police said. In a statement the police disclosed that the incident occurred at around 2:45 am yesterday. The police said that two men were involved in an argument on the Plaisance Railway Embankment, ECD, when one of them discharged rounds at the other which missed and struck Lewis.

The suspect has not yet been arrested and investigations are in progress. `C’ Division commander M. Chapman said that the suspect is wanted for a string of robberies.

Jomo Lewis
Jomo Lewis

Lewis’ mother Ula Lewis related to Stabroek News that three men woke her early in the morning to inquire about her son’s whereabouts. The woman related that she was awoken by loud knocking but did not respond until someone called out: “Aunty Ula.”

The woman related that she saw three men when she opened the door and gave their names as Kevin, ‘Elephant,’ and Rawle Franklin.

Ula said that Franklin asked her, ‘where is Jomo’ and she told him that he was not at home. She said that the man then told her that her son had snatched someone’s chain and rode off on his bicycle. According to Ula, she knew that Franklin was lying because her son does not thief. The woman recounted that Franklin started to raise his voice and said that he threatened her.

After the men left, another man showed up at the home and asked for Jomo’s phone number but his mother related that she told him that her son does not have a phone.

Minutes later, another resident showed up and told her that Jomo was shot. The woman said she was hesitant to go the hospital but eventually went.

Meanwhile, the man’s aunt Mart Britton, was angry that the Plaisance spot was open after 2am despite the fact that the 2am curfew is being enforced. “Rawle is a terrorizer.. you ask anybody bout he and they gon tell ya,” Britton said angrily.

Ula subsequently told Stabroek News that Franklin was on the road early yesterday morning shouting, “I is a bad man! I is a bad man!”