‘Criminal for hire’ shot dead in El Dorado

A man described as a “criminal for hire,” was gunned down Tuesday night while talking to a girl. According to reports, Ronnie Noreiga, 37, aka Ronnie Granger, aka Rasheed Ali, was standing on Clementy Street in El Dorado speaking to Sara Ramlal over a fence around 9 pm, when two men walked up to him and fired four shots, hitting him three times in his mouth, neck and stomach. The attackers then ran off. Two of the victim’s friends who were liming at a nearby pub rushed Noreiga to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. When Newsday visited his Basilon Street home in Tunapuna, no one was available for comment, nor was there anyone available at his girlfriend’s Lackpat Street home. When Newsday spoke to a still-shaken Ramlal, she said she knew him because he once lived in the area.

She said she was feeding her dog when he came up and started to talk. “While talking, I heard these loud gunshots. All I did was drop the pot and run. I saw nothing. “Rasheed was a pleasant, decent fella. That’s all I knew about him.” Further investigations revealed that earlier this week Ali was threatened by a man with whom he had a confrontation. Reports indicate the man was beating his wife when Ali intervened and beat the man. Police sources confirmed that Ali was a drug pusher who had previous charges for firearm possession and was a hustler who engaged in criminal activities to make money. He was known to enter a fight just to show “he is boss” and was a suspect in at least two murders. Autopsy results confirmed death from haemorrhaging consistent with bullet wounds to the head. Cpl Seecharan of St Joseph is investigating.