Ex-con gunned down in revenge hit

POLICE believe ex-convict Odai Callender was gunned down in a gangland revenge hit for the murder of Fair View Hill, Belmont resident Edison Haynes four days ago.

Callender, who was a suspect in several murders and attempted murders, two of which he was charged for, and defeated in court, was the main suspect in the killing of Haynes. The murderers are part of the gangland war between members of the G-unit gang in Belmont/Gonzales and members of another Quarry Road/Observatory Street gang. Added to which, shortly after Haynes’ murder, a relative promised it would not end there, that someone would pay. Callender, 29, of no fixed address, was sitting on the passenger side of the driver in a parked “PH” taxi outside the Harpe Place Planning  at the corner of Observatory Street and Quarry Road, Belmont at around 8.30 pm on Thursday when a lone gunman ran up to the vehicle and fired several shots, hitting him in the leg, hand and back before running off. The driver, on hearing the shots, pushed away the shooter when the gun stuck and ran for his life.

When residents responded to the sounds of gunfire, they found the man gasping in the car. He was rushed to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital and was pronounced dead on arrival. Haynes was shot dead on Wednesday by an unknown gunman who called out to him at his home and fired one shot which hit him in his back. When Newsday visited the Quarry Street, Picton Road and Gonzales houses where the Callender family lives and where Callender bunked from time to time, no one was available. Residents, however, described him as a “demon.” “Odai died as he lived, as a beast, he liked no one and thought nothing of smiling while he dug out your heart. He is a demon, he had no love,” one resident said. Callender, who came out of prison in July and who was imprisoned several times for robbery and other crimes, was acquitted earlier this year at the San Fernando High Court of four charges of shooting at two police officers in April 2000.

According to investigations, Callender had just returned from visiting his girlfriend in Maraval and had asked the driver to stop outside the Harpe when he was shot. Newsday was warned by several of the residents to “be careful as this place is very dangerous since those two killings. “There are a lot of ignorant young gang members running about shooting anyone they see in the road claiming it is revenge. And when it is quiet like this, it is even worse. It is dangerous to even open our doors or be seen talking to strangers.” Police sources confirmed the existence of several rival gangs in the area who are at each other’s throats for drug turfs, URP gangs, CEPEP contracts and revenge and have  implemented a self-imposed curfew which starts as early as 2 pm.

“What you see here is a continuation of what had been going down before and went into a lull. “We believe these two killings will escalate in a mass of revenge killings before it slows down. “Odai was a badman but just one of many who will be killed as the gangs go after each other. “The residents themselves fear to come out and only leave home to go to work or school. Other than that, they have taken to shutting their windows and doors early. “We are trying to do our part but because of the danger we are getting no support from the communities.” Police, however, promised to investigate the matter with the same exuberance as if it was a murder in any other area. They say that an arrest is imminent. Callender is murder victim number 218 for the year and he is the 43rd person murdered in the Laventille/Belmont area. A 24-year-old “PH” driver is assisting Corporal John Ferette in the investigation.