Pharmacist stabbed to death

A PHARMACIST who was stabbed at his El Socorro business place, died at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex (EWMSC) in Mt Hope on Saturday evening while undergoing emergency surgery. The hunt continues for his murderers. However, it was business as usual yesterday at BR Drug Store at the corner of Martin Trace and  El Socorro Main Road, less than 24 hours after the murder of owner/founder, pharmacist Hollis Roberts. Anthony Roberts, the dead man’s son, explained that staying open for business was not meant to be disrespectful to his deceased father, but he felt his father would have wanted it that way. “My dad would have wanted the business to be opened on Sunday to serve the poor people of the area, as he had been doing for the past 45 years,” Roberts said.

“I am also able to use it too, to keep an eye on my mother Yvonne Borde-Roberts and have her active because I know she is traumatised by the situation after spending over 45 years of her life with my dad,” he added. Hollis, 72, died around 5.30 pm on Saturday, after he was stabbed twice in his back by a man who pretended to be a customer. According to reports, two men entered the drugstore around 1.30 pm pretending to be customers. One of the men walked to the cashier while the other stood nearby. The bandit closest to the cashier ordered a plaster and pretended to pay for it. As the cashier opened the cash register, he ordered her not to close it and started walking around the counter towards her. Roberts (Snr) who was nearby, started walking towards the man but was accosted by the other bandit who stabbed the pharmacist twice in the back.

The two men then ran off and escaped west along Martin Trace, while the bleeding man was rushed to Mt Hope where he subsequently succumbed to his injuries. A frustrated Anthony Roberts said he was fed-up with the state of affairs relating to crime in this country and is looking forward to the day when all this “dotishness” would stop. Anthony believes the bandits were not from the area since his father was assisting the poor people of the area for years and was well known and respected by all in the community. When Newsday visited the family’s West Side Drive home in Glencoe, the dead man’s daughter Dr Nicole Roberts said, “one thing is for sure, this is the end of the line for my mother at that business because she cannot stay there alone. They were always together,” Dr Roberts said. Visiting the scene were Snr Supt Bishop, Insp Coa and Sgt Abraham who is leading investigations.