Officers of the Western Division are investigating three reports of shootings, which left four men injured. In the first incident which occurred Saturday night, Dennis Nibblett, 45, of Southern Main Road, Chaguanas, was carrying out deliveries at Blue Basin around 9.30 pm, when he was approached by three men who robbed him of $1,600. They shot him in the left leg and escaped in a waiting car. Nibblett was rushed to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital where he was warded in satisfactory condition. Then at 7.30 pm Sunday, Tion Anthony, 21 of Bagatelle was liming with friends at River Estate, when he was confronted by three masked men. They shot him in the left leg and lower hip. He was taken to the Port-of-Spain Hospital and warded in a serious condition. At 8.45 pm Sunday, Richard Homie, 18, and Richard Goddard, 26, were at Savannah Terrace, Diego Martin, when a man came out of the pavilion and fired six shots. Homie was shot in the back while Goddard,  suffered gunshot injuries to both legs. Both men are warded at the Port-of-Spain Hospital in serious condition. Senior officers expressed alarm at the shootings, and said that an anti-crime initiative will be put in place to deal with those shootings.

A 32-year-old Cocorite man was yesterday detained at the St James Police Station following the death of a two-year-old baby boy. An autopsy on the body of Isaac Joseph, who would have celebrated his second birthday next Thursday, revealed that death was due to a ruptured stomach. The 16-year-old mother of the dead baby who was in grief yesterday at the Forensic Science Centre, refused to have her picture  taken. She said when she left home on Saturday her son was full of life, laughing, and in good health. Nadine Joseph, the child’s mother, said her son’s death has left her in a state of shock. She also said she was seeking justice for the brutal manner in which her son was killed. Police reports revealed that Joseph left her son in the company of a man at a house in Cocorite around midday on Saturday. When she returned around 5 pm, Joseph said she discovered the almost lifeless body of her son alone in a bed in the house. The child had bruises on the shoulders, buttocks and upper lip.

A frantic Joseph sought the assistance of two neighbours, and the child who was frothing a green liquid was rushed to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital. He was transferred to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex late Saturday when his condition deteriorated. The child died around 11 am Sunday. An autopsy  yesterday revealed the child’s body was principally marked from a belt beating , but that a heavy instrument was used to hit him on the stomach. A party of officers led by Sgt Moonilal and others carried out enquiries and detained a 32-year-old man. Up until late yesterday the man was being questioned by investigators. Police officers said yesterday  they will consult with Director of Public Prosecutions, Geoffrey Henderson, today for directions in the matter.

A 19-YEAR-OLD man was shot seven times on Nelson Street Sunday night, and a 23-year-old Beverly Hills man was beaten to death, in two separate gang-related murders in East Port-of-Spain in the latest spate of violence in that area. The two deaths pushed the murder rate to 102 persons killed for the year. The first victim, Clarence Brizan, was ambushed as he walked along a road in John John, Laventille, around 11.30 am on Sunday. He was beaten about the head with a blunt instrument. Brizan was reportedly confronted by a group of men who accused him of stealing a gun. He was taken to an apartment in Beverly Hills, where a search was carried out for the gun. Brizan was then taken to John John where he was beaten on the head and left for dead. He was rushed to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital and died around 1 pm Sunday.

His pregnant girlfriend Kamaria Guy, 22, told Newsday the last time she saw Brizan alive was around 6 am Sunday when she left for work at Amalgamated Security where she is a security guard. Guy said she was at work when she was informed of the death. She said as far as she was aware Brizan was not involved in any illicit activities. However, police investigators said he was part of a gang involved in a series of shootings and murders in Laventille. Meanwhile, at around 9.30 pm Sunday, another man, Daniel Paul Clement, 19, of Piccadilly Street, was shot by a lone gunman seven times while liming with a group of men at Nelson Street. Clement slumped to the ground and died minutes after being shot. His body lay unattended for more than one hour as attempts were made to locate a District Medical Officer. Clement’s twin brother, Simeon, said yesterday he feared for his life and intends to stay indoors. The dead man’s father, Darryl said yesterday that he was at home when he was told his son had been shot. When he arrived at  the scene he saw his son’s lifeless body and begged the police and army officers who were present to allow him to take his son to hospital. “My son was still breathing when I checked his heart, but he died shortly after,” said the grieving father. He said his son was a painter at the National Housing Authority. He could not say why his son was killed. Police said yesterday Clement was a suspect in several murders and was recently charged with possession of a gun. He was also recently placed on ID parades for a series of murders.

OPERATIONS at the multi-million dollar soft drinks manufacturing company SM Jaleel Limited came to a halt following a fire Sunday night which completely gutted the warehouse area. While police and fire officials have not yet determined the cause of the fire, employees speculated that it may have been triggered by an electrical problem. Up until late yesterday officials were still counting the losses estimated to run into millions of dollars. Expensive equipment and raw material used in the manufacture of soft drinks were destroyed by the fire.  Newsday understands that around 5 am yesterday, the blaze re-ignited, forcing officials to once again call in the Fire Service. The SM Jaleel factory at Otaheite, South Oropouche, is one of the main soft drinks manufacturing firms in the country, and is well known for its wide range of beverages including Busta, Chubby, American Classic Cola, Lime-in, Fruta, Oasis Water and Viva. Several of the products are exported to European and US markets.

According to eyewitnesses, the fire started around 9 pm on Sunday near an area of the factory known as the ‘pet line’. The factory quickly became engulfed in flames.  At one time firemen were worried that the fire would spread to a neighbouring company, Inland and Offshore Limited. Officials from that company moved out several vehicles from the compound which were parked too close to the flames. Reporters were barred from entering the compound by the company’s security, and company officials who were at the scene Sunday night refused to comment. However, a press release yesterday, which was signed by Marketing Director Anna Mohammed, said there was loss of material and equipment in one area of the factory, no one was injured, and damage was contained within the compound. Operations at the factory will be affected for a few days while repairs are carried out. The release also stated that some members of staff have been asked to proceed on a week’s vacation leave. Company officials expect a full resumption of operations within the week. The fire has not disrupted the supply of any of the company’s products to customers, officials said.

Suresh Jaikaram, an employee for the past three years, told Newsday his colleagues saw sparks coming from inside the compound moments before the fire started. He said the area was used for storage of raw material and chemicals, including plastics, retin, sugar and wooden pallets. He said tests had recently been carried out on combustible materials in that particular area. According to Jaikaram, hundreds of persons would be on the breadline for a long time because it would take months before that area could be repaired. Kay Ramroop, a resident, who has two sons employed in the company, broke down in tears as she recalled seeing white smoke coming from the factory. “My sons were getting ready to pick up the 11 pm to 7 am shift when I saw the factory burning down,” she said. Ramroop said she felt really hurt because the company provides jobs for several persons in the community. Officials from the Mon Repos, San Fernando and Siparia Fire Stations quickly arrived on the scene but despite their efforts, it took them all of Sunday night and early yesterday morning to get the blaze under control. Up to 1 am, fire officials were still battling the flames. Fire fighters complained that there was a low water supply in the area, hence they had to call WASA on several occasions before the water pressure was increased. One fire-officer attributed the rapid spread of the flames to the “highly flammable chemicals” stored on the compound. Police investigators were on the scene yesterday along with forensic experts. Sgt Rampersad and PC Gokool are continuing investigations.

POLICE were late yesterday searching the Moruga forests, for a man who raped a 31-year-old retarded woman after offering to drop her home on Sunday. The crying woman, who was born with polio, was discovered lying on the main road by the police, shortly after a relative reported that the woman had been abducted. According to police reports, around midday, the 31-year-old woman and her six-year-old cousin went to buy snacks at a parlour near her home in Moruga and were returning home when a car stopped near to them.  Reports indicate that a 43-year-old man, whom the woman knew, offered her and her cousin a drop home. The woman accepted the man’s offer and she got into the car while the six-year-old cousin decided to walk, since their home was a short distance away. However, instead of dropping the woman home, the man took her to his home where he raped her. He then left her on the side of the road a short distance away from his home and drove off. She was picked up by the police who took her to a medical institution where the  District Medical Officer examined her and confirmed to investigators that she had been sexually assaulted. After receiving certain information, police went into the Moruga forests in search of the man. Up to late yesterday no arrests had been made and investigations were continuing.

SIX persons, including two children, were seriously injured yesterday when a car ran off the road and smashed into a lamp post, on the Solomon Hochoy Highway near Couva. Up to late yesterday evening, the conditions of the injured persons, including five-year-old Dhayan Drakes and two-year-old Daniella Harricharan, were still not known. According to police reports, at around 9.15 am, Darlon Farrel, 65, of Agnes Street, Marabella, was transporting five persons in his white B14 Nissan Sentra along the highway. In the vicinity of the Indian Trail Flyover, Farrel lost control of the car, which skidded off the highway. The car slammed into a light pole. The children, Farrel and other injured persons, identified as Anne Harricharan, 27, Glenda Alexander, 31 and Lucille Alexander, 59, all of Gasparillo, were assisted by passersby and taken to the Couva Hospital. All six were treated and transferred to San Fernando General Hospital where up to late yesterday, they remained warded. WPC Joseph is continuing investigations.

THE AUTOPSY on the body of Police Constable Derrick Nelson was aborted at the Forensic Sciences Centre yesterday after the pathologist demanded to see X-rays taken while the policeman was warded at the San Fernando General Hospital. The autopsy is expected to be carried out today. Police sources said the pathologist needed to identify the exact locations where the bullets were lodged in Nelson’s body, before the autopsy could be performed to determine cause of death. The X-rays was supposed to have been obtained from the San Fernando General Hospital yesterday evening to facilitate the autopsy this morning. Meanwhile, the two suspects, aged 22 and 23, of Freeport, held last Thursday in connection with Nelson’s murder, are still in police custody.

Investigators said the suspects were removed from the Couva Police Station and taken to the San Fernando CID where they were placed on several ID parades in connection with the murder and other recent crimes. Following today’s autopsy, investigators would take the case file and autopsy report to Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Geoffrey Henderson to discuss the case. Nelson was a Special Branch officer been assigned to be the personal bodyguard of High Court Judge, Justice Herbert Volney. He died at the San Fernando General Hospital Saturday night, a week after he was shot at least five times about his body and robbed him of his service firearm, in Couva. In a bid to escape his attackers, Nelson jumped 20 feet off a bridge and landed in the Couva River. Sgt Peter Burke, of the Couva CID, is spearheading investigations.