Garbage collector killed over stalled garbage truck

A garbage collector was shot dead when his rubbish truck broke down in Blue Basin, yesterday. According to reports, around 9.30 am, Reynold James, 39, a  loader of the Amalgamated Sanitation Company Limited,  and the driver of the garbage truck, were sitting on the side of Andrew Trace and Blue Basin Road. Their garbage truck had broken down on Blue Basin Road and they were waiting for a mechanic to repair the vehicle. The sanitation company employees were approached by several men in the area, who ordered  them to move the vehicle. An argument started and James was shot five times.

James slumped to a sitting position on the corner of the road where he died. The West End Police are continuing investigations. Representatives from Amalgamated Sanitation Company Limited were unavailable for comment. However, on November 28, the driver of another garbage truck was wounded by a cyclist at Ninth Street, Beetham Gardens. The driver told a cyclist to remove his bicycle from the middle of the road, when he was pelted with a bottle. His wrist was nearly severed and he was rushed to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital where he received 14 stitches. No suspects have been held. Meanwhile, the body of an unidentified man was found at Invaders Bay at 6.30 am yesterday morning, by patrolling officers of  Telecom Security Services.

It was the second body found on a lonely road in the back of the Marriott’s Hotel. The first body was found two weeks ago, in what is believed to be an apparent suicide. Police are seeking the public’s assistance in identifying the body found yesterday. It is, according to police “of an African male, with a low hair cut and greying beard, dark brown complexion, approximately five feet eight inches tall.  He  was around the age of 40, bare back and clad in a long cream coloured pants with a black belt and thin silver bracelet with two pearl coloured beads on his left hand.”