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Forty-one AK-47 spent shells recovered at scene
Ricardo Rodrigues execution…
Investigators have so far recovered 41 spent AK-47 shells from the scene of the execution-style killing of Ricardo Rodrigues called ‘Fat Man’ on Monday last.
The recovery of so many spent shells reflects the intensity of the brazen attack which also resulted in the wounding of three other persons.
Rodrigues was riddled with bullets, which mutilated several parts of his body, killing him instantly.
Investigators are convinced that the former right-hand man of convicted drug kingpin Shaheed ‘Roger’ Khan was the sole target of the attack which took place in the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club compound on Albert Street.
Eyewitnesses recalled seeing two men dressed in black, firing repeatedly at Rodrigues who was sitting at a table outside the club’s Pit Stop Restaurant and Bar.
The men had also fired shots at the three other persons who were nearby.
Dead: Ricardo Rodrigues
Those injured are Aubrey Henry, 35, of Alberttown, who was shot in both legs; Michael Hutchinson, 42, was hit on his right arm and right foot and Canadian Jean Le Blanc who was shot in his right hip.
Henry has since been discharged while Le Blanc remains a patient in the High Dependency Unit of the hospital.
Police said that so far they have not taken anyone into custody although they have indicated that there is someone of interest who is being sought. They have not disclosed who that person is.
Several individuals have been questioned.
Rodrigues’ death has sent shockwaves through the city and its environs.
No clear motive for the killing has been established as yet but investigators are probing whether it is linked to the recent arms and ammunition find at Lethem.
Rodrigues was released last week on $100,000 bail after spending a night in police custody pending investigations into the discovery of three M-70 and four M-16 assault rifles, along with a grenade and radio communicating equipment.
A source close to the investigation told Kaieteur News that hopes of obtaining footage from a closed circuit TV camera on a nearby building were dashed when it was established that it was not functioning.
“The gunmen fired at it yes, but it was never working,” the source said.
There are reports that Rodrigues, upon seeing the men, drew a handgun he was carrying in his waist but he never got the chance to fire it as the bullets tore into his body. The handgun was left lying on the ground next to his body.
“I see a banna run and fall down. He lie down about five minutes and then he get up and start limp and then fall down again,” one eyewitness stated.
Workers at the nearby Critchlow Labour College spoke of ducking for cover upon hearing the gunshots.
“It was constant; there was no lull in the gunshots, just rapid gunfire over a period of time, numerous shots, then it stop,” one of the employees recalled.
A bullet pierced one of the college’s exterior lights and fell in the compound.
“I couldn’t see anybody, because I was in the building. Whoever would have done the shooting would have already left. When I came outside all I see was people running, apparently to get away from the location where the shooting was taking place,” the employee explained.
Questions are being asked as to how the gunmen managed to carry out such a brazen attack in that part of the city, at that time of the afternoon, and then disappear without a trace.
Rodrigues’ death is the seventh execution-style killing in Guyana so far for the year, with all but one occurring in the city and its immediate environs.
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