Murders, road fatalities, mar the mas

WHILE police sources reported a marked decrease in criminal activities over the just concluded Carnival Weekend, thanks to a massive joint police/army presence throughout the country, three murders were still reported.

In addition, the carnage on the nation’s roads did not subside during the reign of the Merry Monarch, with seven persons losing their lives in several accidents, and others seriously injured. There was also a drowning. The following is a list in chronological order of the murders and fatalities which occurred over the long Carnival weekend.

CARNIVAL FRIDAY
— Christopher McIntosh, 22, of Thompson Street, Mt Hope was driving his white Ford Cortina east along Mendoza Street, Mt Hope in company with his cousin Junior Francis. McIntosh lost control of the vehicle which struck a lamp post, killing him instantly.
— Amit Dookraj, 24, a carpenter of St Mary’s Village, Freeport died instantly when he was struck by a car driven by businessman Khifa Lutchman along the Southern Main Road, Freeport. 

CARNIVAL SATURDAY
— Herbert St Hill George, 37, of Pt Fortin lost his life around 4.30 am when his car crashed into a ditch off the Uriah Butler Highway. He later died at hospital.
— The bullet-riddled body of a yet to be identified man is found in a drain in Mt D’Or Road, Champs Fleurs. Residents reported hearing loud explosions on Saturday night while, a party was in progress in the area. Around 6 am on Saturday, a resident of the area discovered the body which bore four gunshots to the chest, two in the back, two in the neck and a gunshot to the right thigh, lying in a drain. Three spent nine-millimetre shells were recovered near the body.

CARNIVAL MONDAY
— In a Jouvert crime crackdown 55 persons were arrested in a raid by police who seized an array of weapons including knives, cutlasses, razors, ice-picks, guns, hatchets and sharpened screwdrivers. The raid was carried out hours before Jouvert and is believed to be responsible for the generally crime-free Carnival jump-up in Port-of-Spain.
— Madoo Ramlal, 44, Luke Rampersad, 19, and Sheldon Siewnarine, 15, were killed after the van they were in, skidded off a road and overturned into a ditch in Gran Couva. A one-year-old baby boy, who was seated with relatives in the tray of the van escaped with only minor injuries, while six others were treated for serious injuries.

CARNIVAL TUESDAY
— NHA labourer Clevon “Scrappy” Hamilton, 22, of Pelican Extension, Morvant, was found dead in a vacant lot of land near his home, with gunshot wounds to the head. Police have described the killing as a “mafia-styled” execution.
— CEPEP worker Jason Tinto, 22, died at Port-of-Spain General Hospital after being brought there suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Around 2 am, he was found by neighbours lying on a road in Spring View Drive, Petit Valley near to where he lived, bleeding from gunshot wounds.