His accomplice, Jacobs, was shot and killed in a yard in
Hardina Street.
The third man escaped reportedly with a bag containing a
quantity of money.
The scene around Georgetown was chaotic and persons were
once again shocked that bandits had chosen the busiest area
in the city to commit robbery in broad day light. The drama
began when the men snatched a bag of money from 33-year-old
money changer, Ashraf Alli, of Peter's Hall, East Bank
Demerara in the vicinity of the Discount Store at the corner
of Regent and Wellington streets.
According to a release from the police, around 9.30
yesterday morning Alli was attacked and robbed by two men,
one of whom was armed with a handgun. They managed to take
away a bag of money from Alli during a scuffle.
The release said the two men ran south along Wellington
Street and as they fled the armed man discharged several
shots in Alli's direction before they joined a car. Stabroek
News understands that the car was parked on Croal Street.
Dick may have been waiting in the car.
The release said a police patrol responded promptly to
the report and confronted the three men who had exited the
car in Hardina Street. Two of the men were at the time
attempting to hijack a car in Hardina Street. "There
was a chase and an exchange of gunfire which resulted in one
of the bandits… [Jacobs] being fatally shot by the
police in a yard at Hardina and Norton streets," the
release said. It stated that the police recovered an
unlicensed .38 snub nose revolver along with matching live
rounds and spent shells that were in his possession.
According to the release, Dick made a second attempt to
hijack another motor vehicle in Norton Street and was
confronted by the police in the process. There was a further
exchange of gunfire during which he was fatally shot by the
police. Dick, who the police said had been wanted for a
number of criminal matters following his escape from the
Georgetown Prison, had an AK-47 rifle with the butt sawn
off, along with four magazines and a quantity of matching
live rounds in his possession.
It is not clear what Alli was doing in the vicinity of
the Discount Store. His car was parked outside the store and
he was not in it when he was attacked. It is believed that
he must have realised that the men were following him and
was attempting to throw them off track.
According to reports, the man had left a city bank having
withdrawn close to $7M.
Shoeboxes
A source at the Discount Store told Stabroek News that
the man had entered the store and asked the price of a pair
of boots. The source said the man left the store with two
shoe boxes in a bag. But this did not dissuade the bandits.
As he was about to enter his car they stuck him up, grabbed
the bag and ran off. They did this so quickly that people
around did not realise that a robbery had taken place.
A minibus passenger said she had just disembarked at the
corner of Wellington and Regent streets and was about to pay
the conductor when she heard gun shots. She turned around to
see a man wearing a white jersey firing shots; he was
chasing after two men.
In his haste to escape, one of the men ran into a minibus
and fell to the road but quickly got up and then returned
fire in the direction of the man in the white jersey. When
the man fell, the woman said, she saw what looked like a
shoebox fall as well. It opened up and two huge coils of
money fell out. Someone in the vicinity picked up the box,
replaced the money and handed it over to the man in the
white jersey, she said. Alli was wearing a white jersey at
the time of the robbery.
The woman said the bandit, who was fair in complexion and
was wearing a white and blue jersey with blue three-quarter
pants, continued running up Wellington Street behind his
accomplice. Persons in the area said they were only alerted
to the fact that something was wrong when they heard the gun
shots.
It appeared that an off-duty police officer might have
seen what transpired and followed the men. When they entered
the car on Croal Street, he continued following them during
which time he must have contacted his colleagues.
Reports indicate that when the men reached Bent Street in
the vicinity of Hardina Street they realised they were being
followed and decided to ditch the vehicle.
They continued on foot towards Norton Street through
Hardina. An eyewitness told this newspaper she saw the three
men running through Hardina Street towards D'Urban Street
shouting "Yoh! Yoh!" This was presumably to alert
persons to get out of their way.
At this point, the three bandits began yard-hopping in
their escape bid. However, the determined police officers
were not to be dissuaded from their mission and hopped into
the yards behind the men. The police and the men were
exchanging gunfire during this chase.
Residents told this newspaper that the police had
insightfully cordoned off certain sections of the area,
effectively blocking the bandits' possible escape routes.
The police blocked off from close to the New Testament
Church of God on Norton Street to just over Hardina Street
on the same street.
Attempted hijack
A friend of Patterson, who was shot and injured during
the ordeal, and whose reputed husband shot the bandit in the
head, told Stabroek News that she, her husband and the
newly-wed Patterson and his wife, were on their way out. The
car was parked outside Lot 30 Norton Street. The woman said
she was almost in the car when she realized she needed
something from the house. As she was about to open the door
to the house, the woman said: "All I see is a man
coming towards me with a long gun and he pass me and head
straight to the car and tell [Patterson] to drive this f***g
car ."
The woman said the gunman fired one shot hitting
Patterson in his leg and causing him to fall out of the car
from the driver's seat. She said her reputed husband, who is
a licensed firearm holder, was standing at the back of the
car. Once he realized what had happened, he fired a shot
hitting the bandit.
"After he [the gunman] shoot the boy [Patterson],
who fell out the car, the gunman went into the driver's seat
and attempted to start the car, but my gentleman came from
the back and shoot him in his head." The woman said the
gunman slumped over the steering wheel but was reportedly
still breathing.
Other residents in the area said that at this point the
police had caught up with the gunman (Dick) and surrounded
the car. One resident said initially the police mistook
Patterson for the bandit, but were quickly told the bandit
was in fact in the car.
Stabroek News was told that the police then fired one
last shot into the car killing the bandit who was then
dragged out of the car and placed into a police vehicle.
'Don't kill me'
Meanwhile, in Hardina Street, residents said the other
gunman was seen hopping fences and was running through a
yard when he was cornered. Another eyewitness said she saw
the gunman, who appeared to have been injured already, then
she heard about five shots ring out and the gunman fell to
the ground.
"He didn't dead yet, and the police ask he is how
much ah dem and he say three. He tell the officer standing
up over he, 'Ow officer don't kill me,' but the police say,
'No man I can't save you, you deserve to die,'" the
woman quoted.
"The officer shout at me and tell me go inside and
then I heard one last gunshot and then all I see is de
police dragging de man out de yard ," the eyewitness
recounted.
The woman said she was at home with her child rushed into
her bedroom and stayed there until she felt that the area
was safe again.
Scores of residents in the area rushed out of their homes
on hearing the gunshots. Most of them recalled seeing three
gunmen running through the streets followed by the police.
Some took evasive action, while others placed themselves in
positions to have an up-close-and-personal view of what was
transpiring. They claimed that the third gunman escaped by
running up Norton Street; he had a black bag slung over his
shoulders.
After the shooting the police searched several homes in
the area.
Meanwhile, the owner of the Chetson's Store, located in
the vicinity of the robbery, told reporters he was in his
office when he heard gunshots and later learnt that Alli,
who is a friend, was robbed. He expressed shock and disgust
that the bandits were so brazen as to once again attack a
business person in broad daylight.
He called for a greater police presence in areas such as
Wellington Street where it is known that a number of
criminal elements lurk. However, by midday yesterday many
other persons were praising the law men and expressing the
hope that yesterday was the beginning of pro-active work by
the police. "That was good police work, boy. Dem men
mean deh must catch dem bandits…" were among the
comments heard around the town.
