Two gunned down in Arima and Diego Martin

Two persons were gunned down in two separate incidents on Saturday night bringing to 133 the number of persons murdered for the year thus far. Between Saturday afternoon and Saturday night three persons were killed. On Saturday, 34-year-old Marlon Telesford was discovered dead in his house at Mentor Alley, Laventille. He is believed to have been beaten to death and a quantity of electronic items stolen from his home. The second murder on Saturday occurred at about 7 pm and the third occurred at about 10 pm. Reports are that on Saturday Omari Zulu, 23, of Factory Road, Diego Martin, was at his home, preparing to leave for work at the Port, when he was confronted by two masked men armed with guns. The men shot him in the left temple and buttocks and then fled the scene. Ojun Zulu, the brother of Omari, said that his brother borrowed money from him to travel to work on Saturday.

He claimed that he was alerted to gunshots and on checking saw his brother lying in a ditch with two gunshot wounds. Zulu said that his brother was not involved in any illicit activities. Police investigators told Newsday that based on information received, a group of masked men, believed to be members of a gang, were seen firing shots in the area at Factory Road. An eyewitness told Newsday “the gang members were just firing at anyone they saw and shot Zulu for no reason.” Later on Saturday, Carlos King, 18, was at his parlour, located at the corner of River Road and Pinto Road, Arima, when two occupants of a car alighted from the vehicle and began firing shots at King. He was killed instantly. Police described the killing as drug-related. Snr Supt Bastien, ASP Badal, Inspector Yearwood and WP Sgt Helen Cox-Modeste visited the scene. The body was ordered removed to the Forensic Science Centre. Ann King, the mother of the dead man said that around 10 pm, she looked out her house and saw her son selling in the shop. Ten minutes later she heard six gunshots.

She made a check and saw her son lying face down, with four gunshots to the head and upper body. She said that her son was a hard-working person. “Carlos was  a very hard-working boy, and started the shop with money earned from working in the URP project,” she said. King pleaded guilty for a drug charge at the Arima Magistrates’ Court last week and was fined. Relatives denied that he was involved in drugs. However, police investigators told Newsday that King had an altercation with two men over drugs and was threatened. Meanwhile, a 42-year-old Diego Martin woman was also shot three times early yesterday, and is in stable condition at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital. Around 7.50 am yesterday, Sharon Sealey, 42, of Upper Rich Plain Road, Diego Martin, was standing outside her home, when a man grabbed her left hand and shot her in the chest, left shoulder and hands. Her shooting is linked to the murder at Factory Road, Diego Martin on Saturday night.