Gunman caught and beaten after daring robbery at Taxi service

Sep 05, 2011 News

– gun recovered, two fleeing accomplices arrested

A gunman identified as Toney Ogle called ‘Skin Teeth’, 34 of Beterverwagting, East Coast Demerara is currently in police custody after he was caught and beaten shortly after he committed a daring robbery on a popular taxi service in Alexander Village around midday yesterday.
There are reports that two other men were arrested as it is believed that they were Ogle’s accomplices in the robbery.
One of the men was caught while walking along Mandela Avenue (Back Road) while another was caught not far from where the robbery was committed. Two of the men are said to be interdicted police ranks.
Reports are that Ogle attacked a female dispatcher, Jenelle Burke who is attached to the Green Ice Taxi Service, Cross and Fourth Street, Alexander Village base, sometime after 13:00 hours yesterday.
Burke told this newspaper that the suspect turned up at the Taxi Service base pretending to be a customer. The woman said while she was attempting to locate a car for the ‘customer’, the man grabbed at her hand and began demanding that she hand over her valuables. She was relieved of her gold chain. The man then demanded that she hand over the base fees that were collected for the day and instructed her to stay quiet or she will be a ‘dead meat’. Burke related that she told her attacker that she had already handed over the money to her employer.

34-year-old Toney Ogle called ‘Skin teeth’ shortly after he was caught following the robbery.

The shaken woman said that the man indicated that he did not believe her and proceeded to ransack the office. After coming up empty-handed, the man turned his attention to her handbag, in which he found two cellular phones and an undisclosed sum of cash.
The woman stated that as the man was fleeing, she raised an alarm and this resulted in him pulling out a gun discharging a round into the air.
But that did not deter public-spirited citizens and drivers attached to the taxi service from responding to the call for assistance. Persons in the area said the man then began running east towards the traffic light on Mandela Avenue.
Another person attached to the taxi service said they were all made aware of the incident after the dispatcher sent a message over the radio along with instructions and a description of her attacker.
One man said that after the transmission was sent, almost all drivers gave chase in their cars. It was only at that point that persons were made aware that the man had an accomplice who was nearby on a bicycle.
“After the one on the bicycle see wha going on, he mek a u turn and beat out,” one of the drivers told this newspaper.
According to eyewitnesses, the gunman then discharge a round at one of the chasing cars, hitting its windscreen but fortunately the driver escaped without injury.
The gunman then made his way into Hunter Street as he took away a bicycle from a bystander in an attempt to flee faster. Having no other choice, one of the drivers attached to the base and who was a part of the chase struck the fleeing man off the bicycle.
“When he fall down, he pull out he gun again but a man give he a tackle from behind and is then other people grab he and you ain’t got to ask de rest,” the driver told this newspaper.
By that time the police arrived on the scene and rescued the man, and the gun was handed over to them.