Second man held for questioning over robbery outside Jialing store

The police on Thursday evening arrested a second person as they continued to probe the armed robbery outside the Jailing store, during which a taxi driver was shot.

Commander of ‘A’ Division Clifton Hicken yesterday said that two persons are now in custody. The first was arrested in Albouystown, Georgetown with a blue 212 motor car fitting the description of the vehicle used to carry out the crime. The second man was held for questioning.

“They are cooperating with the police and we still have a lot more to do,” Hicken said. The robbery occurred around 12.30pm on Thursday outside the Jialing store at Charlotte and Oronoque streets, Georgetown during which Elda Belle was robbed of her loaded firearm and approximately $1.5M.

Belle, who was the passenger of a taxi, had just left a city bank and was about to make a purchase at the store when she was robbed of a bag containing the money and her licenced firearm.

The taxi driver, who was identified as Richard Bellamy, was shot once to his foot. He remains hospitalised.

The vehicle used by the robbers was parked on the eastern side of Oronoque Street. Two men, including one armed with a gun, emerged and grabbed the bag containing the money from Belle.

A guard attached to the Jialing store had said that he observed a man exiting the vehicle with a weapon and he radioed for back up. “I am unarmed and it looked as if the man was coming in here, so I radioed for back up,” he said.

He said while he was waiting on back up, he heard shots fired. “When I looked outside it was a lady they were robbing,” he added.

The man explained that the taxi driver had exited his vehicle to see what was happening and he was shot by the gunman. It was further related that the perpetrators, after grabbing the bag containing the money, jumped into the waiting car and escaped in the direction of South Road.