Two men gunned down in Malick

A SUSPECTED kidnapper was one of two people shot and killed in Malick early yesterday morning in what is believed to be revenge for the killing of a child almost eight years ago, police sources said. The dead men are Winston “Wattle” Pierre, 30, and Rondel “Blacks” Hillaire, 19, both of Upper Seventh Avenue, Malick.  Their deaths have pushed the year’s murder toll to 154, homicide sources told Newsday. Hillaire’s elder brother, Rennie, aka “Mooksy,” 22, also of Malick, was wounded in the attacks which occurred within four hours of each other.  He is under police guard at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital.  Pierre and the Hillaire brothers were friends. North Eastern Division police said they were supposed to execute a search warrant at Pierre’s home last night for firearms and ammunition. He was shot about five times, police said.

Pierre was also labelled a suspected kidnapper by the police.  Almost eight years ago a jury had acquitted him of murdering a shopkeeper’s child. The State, according to Pierre’s elder brother, Roderick, paid Pierre a sum of money after he had been acquitted of the murder charge. Pierre, father of two whose wife Marissa is pregnant, met his death around 7.30 am yesterday when he went to pay his respects to the Hillaire family, who live a short distance away. The Hillaires’ mother, Shirley, told Newsday that Pierre told her he felt sad about what had happened and did not know what to tell her about her son’s murder and the attempted murder of another son. “After speaking with him I left to take a bath in the back but before I could bathe, I heard shots ring out,” Shirley said.  It was then discovered that Pierre had been killed mere metres from the Hillaires’ home.  He did not make it to his metallic green Honda CRV vehicle. “I told him to stay away, but he did not listen,” Pierre’s wife, Marissa said from their home.  She did not want to comment further.

However, Roderick Pierre said that “at least 9,000 people”  would have wanted to kill his brother.  He said Pierre used to dress nicely, and wore a couple of gold chains. Roderick, who is employed with a security firm,  said he got the news of his brother’s death while at work. Roderick also described his brother as a “jack of all trades.”  However, police said he worked nowhere and wondered how he came to be in possession of such an expensive vehicle.  Residents said he had other cars, and that Rondel drove one of them. The first of the shootings took place around 3.30 am when gunmen broke a portion of the Hillaires’ back door. It is not known how many men entered the home, but Shirley Hillaire said Rennie told her from his hospital bed that Rondel, a PH driver, was shot first. Rondel is believed to have sought refuge in the toilet after hearing the breaking down of the back door.  There were two bullet holes on the blue toilet door.

Afterwards, Shirley said, Rennie, an employee at National Petroleum (NP) told her that he was subsequently shot in the bedroom.  Both brothers then jumped through a louvre window, smashing six louvre panes in the process. Police said Rondel died on the jump. Shirley said Rennie ran through some bushes and was later taken to the city hospital by neighbours.  While running through the bushes, another relative said, a gunman who stood guard at the family’s porch fired several shots at Rennie. “I just heard Rondel bawl,” Shirley said.  She added that she and her 12-year-old daughter, Keisha, remained in their bedroom.  She said after the shooting, someone tried to kick down her door. Shirley could not say why anyone would want to harm her sons.  Rondel is now her second son to be murdered by the gun. 

On October 14, 2001, Rodney “Stress” Hillaire was shot dead in the Malick area, in what residents said was also linked to the killing of the child. “Stress” was linked to a man who killed a child and “Wattle” was the main man behind it, but the court had no evidence and “Wattle” was freed,” one outspoken resident said. He also said that about seven shots were fired at “Wattle” earlier this year and that every single bullet had missed him.  “You live by the sword, you die by it.  Time for them to get out of the life anyway,” the resident said. The resident, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, also predicted that two more people were going to die, since four were linked to the child’s death. Officers under Sr Supt Waldron Bishop, and including Acting Supt Wayne Gilbert, Insp Ancil Coa, Sgts David Abraham and Jordan, and Cpl Jacobs visited the scene.  No arrests had been made up to late yesterday evening but police said arrests are imminent.