Ex-con executed at Enterprise

AN EX-CONVICT was executed close to his Enterprise Street, Chaguanas, home early yesterday, bringing the number of persons murdered for the year to 30. Dexter “Platts” Johnson, who was released from prison last September after serving ten years for larceny of a car at gunpoint, was shot three times by his killer. He was shot once in the head, left upper shoulder and left eye. Yesterday, his body lay in a crouched position in the yard of his neighbour as rain washed the blood from his bullet riddled body into a nearby drain. In the pouring rain, officers of the Crime Scenes Unit and Chaguanas CID searched for clues while neighbours and friends of the dead man stared at his body in disbelief. Marilyn Johnson, the dead man’s sister, collapsed after being allowed to view the body and was comforted by Inspector Burt Raphael, Sgt Salandy and Ag Sgt Ajith Persad.

According to reports, at around 2 am yesterday, residents of Bynoe Trace Extension, heard gunshots coming from a house owned by Tracey Grant. Grant was not at home at the time. Around 7 am yesterday, Johnson’s bullet riddled body of was discovered in a pool of blood and officers of the Chaguanas CID were alerted. Officers led by Supt Fredericks and including ASP Millette, Inspector Raphael, Ag Sgt Persad, Cpl Villafana and others went to the scene along with District Medical Officer Dr Indarjit Birja. At the scene of the killing, Johnson’s common-law wife, Sharon Vialva, was in shock as she viewed the body from the yard of a neighbour. Residents of the area told Newsday Johnson was recently threatened over an incident in which a car belonging to a well known man of the area was stolen. They feel the shooting death is linked to the larceny of the car. The body was removed to the Forensic Science Centre and a postmortem is scheduled for today. Ag Sgt Ajith Persad is investigating.