Man shot, police shot at, 5 held, gun, ammo seized

A BELMONT man was up to late evening warded in unsatisfactory condition after he was shot and chopped by a group who is believed to have been involved in a robbery and two separate incidents of shooting at the police in Curepe and the Beetham early yesterday morning.

Two of the alleged assailants then walked into the West End Police Station around 5.40 am yesterday, claiming they were held up and robbed of a silver grey Hyundai Sonata vehicle in the Diego Martin area.  A similar vehicle was used during the shootout, police said. Police sources have since been able to refute the men’s claims since the female owner of the vehicle told police officers that her car was never stolen, but was lent to one of the men to “pull bull.” The two men, ages 31 and 22, of Covigne Road, Diego Martin, were promptly arrested after communication between officers of the West End and Besson Street Police Stations. They were among five people held, the other three being two women, ages 19 and 20, and a 22-year-old man, all from the Beetham district. A .38 Smith and Wesson revolver along with two live rounds and four spent shells were reportedly found when the three were arrested.

In the first incident, Belmont police said around 3.30 am, three men parked a Hyundai Sonata vehicle on Gordon Street. Police said the three men then walked to Dundonald Street, where they robbed 60-year-old Mervyn Clunis of jewelry amounting to $1,600, and later shot and chopped Michael O’Brien, who is said to be in critical condition at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital. After the robbery and shooting, police said the men escaped in a Hyundai Sonata vehicle.  PC Marshall of the Belmont CID is investigating that report. In the Curepe incident, Northern Division police said around 4.30 am, Cpl Welch and others of the Arouca Emergency-999 responded to a call from Command Centre that a motor vehicle was stolen from Diego Martin on Wednesday night.

Police said the vehicle was spotted in the vicinity of the Kay Donna Drive-in.  Police said a chase ensued and the officers attempted to intercept the vehicle. The officers were fired at and returned fire.  However, the occupants of the vehicle did not stop and police chased it onto the Beetham Highway. Other officers from the Besson Street Police Station converged in the area, subsequently causing the alleged stolen vehicle to stop. Two women and a man were arrested in the vehicle, but police said two other occupants escaped.  More than one hour after, two men went to the West End Police Station and claimed they were held up and robbed of their vehicle. It is not clear how the women ended up in the vehicle, but police are speculating that they got into the vehicle somewhere between the Belmont and Curepe incidents.  All five are to be placed on identification parades today.