PNM official cried like a baby

A NIGHT of fun almost turned fatal on Sunday for the PNM Male Youth Officer for Chaguanas Ian Alleyne, who was robbed of $20,000 worth in jewelry and threatened with death by a gunman at Chaguaramas. With a gun cocked to his head, Alleyne, began crying like a baby and begged the gunman to spare his life. Alleyne who was thanking his lucky stars for being alive, told Newsday yesterday that the experience has left him shaken. He has vowed never to return to Chaguaramas again. Alleyne told Newsday that on Sunday, one of his friends invited him to a barbecue at Chaguaramas.

He said that he and some friends reached Chaguaramas around 10 pm and began preparations for the barbecue. Around 11 pm he noticed three men loitering in the area, and saw three police officers who were carrying out a patrol, questioning the men about their reasons for being in the area. He said that at no time were the three men searched by the police. Alleyne added that around 1 am, while he and his friends were packing up, the same three men returned and pointed a gun at the side of his head. “He said that the gun was cocked and ready to be fired and the gunman ordered him to hand over everything. He said to me, ‘listen to me, ah go kill yuh today, give me everything.”’ Alleyne told Newsday that he began crying and pleaded with the bandit to spare his life. “At one point in time, the gunman was having difficulty removing the gold band from my wrist, and this caused him to become angry,” said Alleyne. He said that the gunman placed the gun closer to his head and again threatened death.

“I thought that this was the end for me, but gathered enough courage to again plead for my life,” the young politician added. After his jewelry was removed, the gunman and his two accomplices began searching the vehicles and this gave Alleyne the opportunity to make a quick dash to where his automatic nine millimetre pistol was located. Alleyne fired three shots at the men who began running away. The gunman began firing wild shots in the air and ran towards the nearby Bauxite plant. By that time police officers on patrol who were alerted to the gunshots arrived on the scene, and a search was carried out for the suspects to no avail. Alleyne and his friends were taken to the Carenage Police Station where they gave statements to the police.

Yesterday, Alleyne admitted that having been the victim of a serious crime he now knows what it feels like to be violated. He has decided to form a crime watch group in Chaguanas and the watchwords of the group will be, “If you see something, say something.” Despite being robbed, Alleyne is confident that the anti-crime initiatives by the PNM government would reap the desired results. He is calling on members of the public to exercise caution when having picnics or any activities at night in Chaguaramas. Checks with the Carenage Police Station yesterday revealed that the incident is under investigation. Police officers told Newsday that arrests are imminent.