MONTHS after being charged for unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition and for escape from lawful custody, 37-year-old Regan Rodrigues of Riverview, Ruimveldt, Georgetown was yesterday charged with the execution of political activist Courtney Crum-Ewing.Rodrigues, alias ‘Gray Boy’, appeared before City Magistrate Fabayo Azore and was not required to plead to the indictable charge alleging that on May 10, 2015, at Diamond, East Bank Demerara, he murdered ex-solider Courtney Crum-Ewing.

Police Prosecutor Deniro Jones explained that police investigations are still ongoing, while advice still has to be sought from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) regarding certain aspects of the charge.

Moreover, the .32 pistol which was found in Rodrigues’s possession was sent for ballistics testing while he was on remand, and the test proved that the same gun was used to execute the ex-soldier.

The unrepresented ‘Gray Boy’ explained that he was being victimised by the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), because everybody is labelling him a murdered and a cold-blooded killer who wanted to execute an innocent man.

The magistrate had to remind Rodrigues of his right to remain silent, although he told her that he would like to “reason with the court”. In his “reasoning”, he implicated Rajput Naraine, a former bodyguard of former Attorney General and People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Executive Member Anil Nandlall, and a high ranked police officer whom he named as ‘Creaser’.

Naraine and Creaser, Rodrigues noted, were the ones who had offered him money to execute Courtney Crum-Ewing, but he said he had refused the offer because he was a supporter of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU).

He said he had gone to the police, who instead held him for the crime, because “once money pass, nobody cares”.

Rodrigues explained that he was never interrogated by the police, but was surprisingly being brought before the court to answer to a charge of which he has no knowledge.

After Rodrigues had finished his “reasoning”, the magistrate informed him that he was being remanded until August 21, when he would appear before Magistrate Ann McLennan.

Political activist Crum-Ewing was gunned down on March 10, 2015 while encouraging residents of Diamond New Housing Scheme to cast their votes in the May 11 General and Regional Elections against the PPP. The former soldier had come to the public’s attention after he had held a one-man demonstration for 80 days in front of the office of the then Legal Affairs Minister and Attorney General Anil Nandlall, following revelations of a taped conversation between that official and a senior reporter of the Kaieteur News.

He was shot five times – thrice to the head, once to the back of the neck, and once under one of his arms. All the bullets were fired from behind his person and at close range, except the one that hit him under his arm and exited through his shoulder.

Rodrigues was charged a few weeks ago for possession of illegal arms and for escaping from lawful custody. The charges against the suspect were read on Wednesday last at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts. It is alleged that on July 13 at Riverview, Ruimveldt, while in the custody of Constable 2041 Thomas pending criminal charges for unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition, Rodrigues escaped from lawful custody.

It is also alleged that, on the same date, he had in his possession one Taurus pistol and 14 live rounds of ammunition without being a licensed firearm holder.