Retired Assistant Com-missioner of Police, Paul Slowe, is labelling as “‘strange” the Joint Ser-vices’ operation that resulted in the shooting to death on Sunday of an alleged accomplice of escaped death row prisoner, Mark Royden Williams called ‘Smallie’.
On Sunday, the Joint Services reported that they had initially succeeded in capturing Neon Howard, the alleged accomplice but he was later shot dead in a confrontation. Howard was said to have helped facilitate ‘Smallie’s’ escape from the Mazaruni maximum security prison. However, the police had never issued a wanted bulletin for him.
“The story that was alleged to have been made by the police sounds very strange”, Slowe said in an interview with Stabroek News. “If a person is arrested, especially a person who is supposed to be violent, one would expect that the first thing to do is to handcuff that prisoner. I think that would have been the first thing. So, the question is, why the prisoner was not handcuffed when he was arrested?” Slowe added that if the priority was the capture of Howard alive, vital intelligence would have been gained.
“If it is to say that the man attacked the police or the Joint Services representatives, then they would have been justified in using lethal force, but one would have thought that when he was arrested all efforts would have been made to question and find out where the other persons were, and as they say, ‘dead men carry no tales’ so you can’t question him. So, a priority would have been to capture him (alive) so that he could give you vital intelligence.” As of now, Slowe believes that in the absence of more information, the story remains one that is very difficult to believe. “The story sounds a little funny, and (with) the absence of a lot more explanation, it is very difficult to believe,” Slowe noted.
On Sunday, the Guyana Police Force (GPF) in a statement said that Howard, called ‘Taxi’, a 33-year-old male of Friendship, East Coast Demerara, was fatally shot when he opened fire on ranks of the Joint Services along a trail leading from St Mary’s Quarry, Esse-quibo River in Region #7. A manhunt had been launched to recapture “Smallie” and company who are said to be armed and dangerous. The Police said that intelligence gathered stated that the trio was sighted near the St Mary’s quarry area on May 27th.
Using the intelligence gained, ranks from the Joint Services promptly responded and launched several patrols (ATV and foot) in the area. At about 06:54 hrs, the next morning, the Joint Services team patrolling on ATV on a trail about six miles north west of where a lumber concession is based on the Essequibo River bank came upon Howard and he was arrested. Howard, the statement said, was being escorted through the trail when he snatched a rank’s firearm from his lap as the rank was driving the ATV. It was reported that Howard immediately disembarked the ATV, ran a short distance in front of the ATV, and turned facing the rank(s) whilst attempting to crank the firearm. As a result, one of the Joint Services ranks, who was armed with an AK-47 rifle, then discharged four rounds in Howard’s direction, one of which struck Howard, who fell into a ditch of water but was still attempting to crank the firearm.
On seeing this, another Joint Services rank then discharged three rounds from his 9mm weapon, two of which struck Howard who became motionless. Questions are being raised as to how an unrestrained Howard could be allowed to be near to an untended firearm, a clear case of dereliction of duty by the Joint Services.
When the news broke of the incident, sections of the public questioned the conduct of the force. Pressed for more information, the authorities have remained mostly silent, and in some instances, have maintained that the case is a very ‘sensitive’ one and certain details being released to the public can hinder the progress of the Joint Services’ search.
Just two Fridays ago, ‘Smallie’, a death row prisoner who was convicted for several killings, escap-ed while being escorted to the prison following a visit from a non-Guyanese. After the visit, the Guyana Prison Services’ escort was returning ‘Smaillie’, whose feet were allegedly shackled, back to the prison dorms when the prison escorts were fired upon with AK-47 and AR-15 automatic rifles from a boat that had moored alongside the Mazaruni prison.
While the prison escorts took cover, the supposedly shackled ‘Smallie’ ran and plunged into the river and swam a short distance to the boat. He was assisted in boarding the boat, which along with its occupants, sped upriver, past Itaballi landing with Prison guards and Police in pursuit. The Joint Services were mobilized to recapture ‘Smallie’ and arrest his accomplices. The boat and captain were found nearby a quarry, with its engine damaged. The captain alleged that he was kidnapped and ordered to transport the men. Since then, the joint services have been combing the Region 7 area for ‘Smallie’ and his accomplices. This search for ‘Smallie’ and accomplices continues using land, water and air surveillance.
