Retired prisons officer gunned down by ‘fake’ cops

TWO men claiming to be police officers but not dressed in police garb yesterday morning shot and killed a retired prisons welfare officer, in what senior officers of the Northern Division believe was robbery-related. The dead man has been identified as Goodraj Jagernath, 54. He is  the father of four.  Jagernath joined the Prisons Service as a Prisons Officer I on April 18, 1970, and retired sometime last year. Police sources said he left his Waterloo Road, Arouca, home sometime ago, and went to live with one Angela Boodoo at La Horquetta Trace, off Tumpuna Road. However, Jagernath’s wife, Somatie, told investigators from the Forensic Science Centre that her husband never left their home. Instead, she said, her husband used to sleep at Boodoo’s home, but usually came back home whenever he had an argument with the woman. Reports on the killing are that around 1am yesterday, two men pounded on the shack at La Horquetta Trace, where Jagernath and Boodoo were asleep.

Police sources said the men, dressed in black and masked, shouted that they were police officers, and subsequently broke down the door. Senior police officers told Newsday that Jagernath went for a cutlass, and was subsequently shot in the chest region.  He died on the spot.   The men then stole a small quantity of jewelry and $30 from the couple, then drove off in Jagernath’s grey Mitsubishi Lancer vehicle, which had not been found up to late evening. A report was made and a party of officers headed by acting Supt Fitzroy Frederick and including ASP Leon Anthony, Insp Wesley Moore and Cpl Parks visited the scene and conducted investigations. District Medical Officer (DMO) Dr Paul Bissessar also visited the scene and ordered the body removed to the Forensic Science Centre, where a post mortem performed yesterday revealed he died from internal haemorrhage consistent with a gunshot wound. Somatie Jagernath did not want to say anymore to members of the media, but another female relative said Jagernath used to “take care of bandits”.  She also said that there might be a robbery link to his killing.