Gold miner slain in Meadow Brook house

Feb 01, 2013 News

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A 33-year-old gold miner and close associate of Ricardo Rodrigues was riddled with bullets at around 20:00 hrs last night by at least two unidentified gunmen who stormed the Pine Grove, Meadowbrook residence in which the victim was staying with friends.
Jason Wills, called ‘Teddy’, of Mahdia, was shot at least seven times at close range with what appeared to be an M-16 assault rifle and a .45 automatic pistol as he sat watching television in the bottom flat of the two-storey house.
Kaieteur News understands that the father of seven was shot once behind the ear, twice in the armpits, once in the left shoulder and also in the abdomen. A close friend of Wills, and the friend’s mother-in-law were the only other two occupants. They escaped unharmed.
Several bullet casings from an assault rifle and a pistol were retrieved from the scene, while bullet-holes were clearly visible in the living room. Kaieteur News understands that the occupants have suggested that the gunmen scaled the fence and entered through the open front door.
A source said that Wills’ friend told police that they were all watching television when he and his mother-in-law went into the kitchen. The friend alleged that he was dishing out a meal when he heard gunshots and he reportedly immediately took cover behind a gas stove.
After the gunshots ceased, the two persons ventured to the living room where they found Wills’ bullet-riddled corpse.
“When I heard the shots I knew it was not squibs, and it was rapid shots. I got flat on the ground. But I didn’t hear any vehicle move off, so I did not go outside to look,” one neighbor said.
A female resident of the area told Kaieteur News that she was in her house when she heard two loud explosions. There was a brief lull, which was followed by a barrage of heavy gunfire.
She said that many of the residents immediately switched off their lights and the area took on the look of “a ghost town.” The woman said that she called 911 and Force Control, but got no response. The woman said that she then called the East La Penitence Police Station and the phone rang once before being cut off. She finally contacted police ranks at IMPACT Base, Brickdam, and ranks arrived at the scene within ten minutes.
Close associates of the slain miner revealed that Wills operated a dredge and a truck at Mahdia. He travelled from Mahdia two Saturdays ago. Kaieteur News was told that the slain man’s mother returned to the United States yesterday morning. She has since been informed of her son’s death.
The sources confirmed that Wills, a deportee, was a close associate of Ricardo Rodrigues, who was slain in almost similar fashion late last year.
He is survived by his reputed wife and seven children, with the eldest aged 12 and the youngest, one year. Wills’ father, Tony Wills, was also executed at Roxanne Burnham Gardens in the late eighties.
Wills’ death comes on the heels of the execution-style murder of 38-year-old Intaz Mohamed, who was slain two Thursdays ago in a West Ruimveldt hotel yard.
On March 16, 2012, Leonard Mahadeo, 37, of Diamond, New Housing Scheme was drinking in the Soca Paradise Sports Bar located at Old Road Eccles, East Bank Demerara, when two gunmen walked in and riddled him with bullets. They then calmly left the scene. Mahadeo had survived a similar attempt on his life five years ago.
Also in March, Giovani Leitch, 21, of Tucville was gunned down aback of the Plaisance Market. On April 30, 2012, Renie Williams, a 25-year-old taxi driver and former policeman, was sitting with his wife in a car outside their King Edward Street, Albouystown home when a man clothed in black with a 9mm pistol shot him twice in the back, killing him almost instantly.
Four days later, Albouystown resident, Aman Lalchand, called ‘Randy’ was smoking a marijuana joint in a poorly-lit Sussex Street area, when the occupants of a white car pumped several gunshots into his body.
Close associates said that Lalchand was targeted for execution by an individual who reportedly collected a $1M down-payment to carry out the hit.
In June 2012, Pest Control Plus owner Mohamed Baksh was sitting in Flava’s Grill, a Thomas Street business place, when a car stopped near the premises.
A gunman then entered the restaurant and shot Baksh twice in the head. He succumbed the following day at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.
In late August, the bullet-riddled body of 25-year-old taxi driver, Sean De Freitas Sookdeo, was discovered at Thomas Lands, near the National Park.
Sookdeo’s body bore gunshot wounds to the head, hands and abdomen and there were signs that he was also tortured.
On October 15, Ricardo Rodrigues, a close associate of convicted drug dealer Shaheed ‘Roger’ Khan, was riddled with bullets from high-powered rifles as he sat at a table at the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club compound on Albert Street.
Jean Le Blanc, a Canadian, was also wounded and succumbed several days later.
Sixteen days after Rodrigues’ execution, his associate, Marlon Osborne, aka Marlon Scott and ‘Trini’, was gunned down in a brazen daylight onslaught while sitting in a vehicle near the junction of Peter Rose and Laluni Streets, Queenstown.

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