Ballistic tests link security guards to killing of Foulis man

Jun 12, 2025 News

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Kaieteur News – Ballistic tests conducted on the firearms of two security guards and two police ranks confirmed that 29-year-old Rondell Clarke was shot by the security guard Sunday evening.

Police said in a statement Wednesday, said “comprehensive examination by ballistic experts have confirmed that Rondell Clarke was shot dead by a security guard.”

The police said that the experts examined bullet fragments extracted from Clarke’s body during a post mortem examination.

“Following a comprehensive examination, ballistic experts concluded that the metal fragment recovered from Mr Clarke’s body was discharged from an AR rifle that was in the possession of Messiah Mussendeen, a security officer employed by Force Security Solutions”, police said.

The Force added that ballistic experts were also able to match a 9mm spent shell casing recovered from the scene to a 9mm pistol that was in the possession of Devon Boucher, another security officer employed by Force Security Solutions.

“In light of these findings, the Guyana Police Force wishes to make it unequivocally clear that the fatal shot which resulted in the death of Rondell Clarke was discharged from the AR rifle in the possession of Messiah Mussendeen”, the police report stated.

Clarke, a construction worker, was shot dead during a police chase on Second Street, Foulis, East Coast Demerara (ECD) Sunday evening.

The incident reportedly occurred between 19:30 and 19:45 hrs.

According to a police report, Clarke was allegedly shot by a 25-year-old male security officer employed with a private security service, but family members believe it was a bullet that was fired by the police.

Meanwhile, Clarke’s family said Wednesday will allow the Guyana Police Force (GPF) to complete its investigation, but will pay close attention throughout the process.

Attorney for the family, Dexter Todd, told Kaieteur News Wednesday that the post-mortem examination confirmed that Clarke died as a result of shock and haemorrhage due to a gunshot. He said the family’s next approach will be to wait and observe the investigation.

“We are going to allow the investigations to proceed. My understanding from the commander is that the police were awaiting the postmortem report, as well as they were awaiting the ballistic results, because the four firearms that they have, they have done ballistic tests on all of them,” Todd said.

He said that after the police receive all the results, a file will be compiled and sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for advice.

Todd told this publication that he indicated to the police that many villagers who saw ‘certain things’ are willing to give statements. He also requested that the investigator go back into the community to get those statements before the file is sent for advice.

Todd said, “We will allow the police to complete the investigations because we are aware that there is enough out there for a proper investigation to be done. And then if we believe that there has been some form of dissatisfaction coming from the investigative process, we will take the necessary steps.”

The lawyer said that the family expressed their concerns and questions about the police theory, which indicates that Clarke was shot by a security officer. Todd describes the police theory as ‘sketchy’.

“We would want to know that if a security officer sees a man riding on a motorcycle, being chased by police, what is the inclination that he needs to take out a firearm and shoot the man, and he doesn’t even know what the man is riding from?” Todd said.

According to a police report, Clarke was allegedly shot by a 25-year-old male security officer employed with a private security service, but family members believe it was a bullet that was fired by the police.

The deceased’s sister, Sherifa Clarke, on Sunday shared concerns over the lack of clarity surrounding the circumstances of her brother’s death.

The woman explained that after being informed of the incident, the family visited multiple police stations along the east coast including Sparendaam, Vigilance, Enmore, and Cove and John, only to be told at each location that no official report had been made regarding the shooting, as a result, the family formed a protest outside the Cove and John police station after which they were assisted.

On Tuesday, two police officers were placed under close arrest following the murder, while two security officers were taken into police custody.

Clarke’s family had formed a protest outside the Cove and John police station on Tuesday to gather information from the police about the incident.

 

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• AR rifle, Ballistic tests, foulis, Messiah Mussendeen, Rondell Clarke

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