…friend beaten in suspected attempted robbery

By Rabindra Rooplall
A MAN was killed Saturday evening and another badly beaten after residents of Pearl, East Bank Demerara, suspected them to be bandits and meted out vigilante justice. It is the second such incident to have occurred in recent days and authorities are concerned about this trend, which they fear can lead to a breakdown in law enforcement. Dead is 26-year-old Seon Clarke, called “Cash Money” of Old Road, Land of Canaan, E.B.D. Police said investigations have revealed that Clarke and another male associate were beaten by public-spirited citizens from the community of Pearl Village, E.B.D., about 22:30hrs on Saturday. Police said that about 14:00hrs on Saturday, Clarke and a male companion visited a grocery store at Sarah Johanna, E.B.D, and was observed by the proprietor “behaving suspiciously.”
The proprietor, police said, made his way to the public road and alerted a policeman who

was passing at the time. The policeman responded and in the process summoned other policemen. The word quickly spread to surrounding villages. “The men fled into the bushes, and during the process, two loud explosions were heard. A search was conducted but they were not found,” the police in the statement.
Again “about 22:30hrs on Saturday night, members of the community spotted the men on the Pearl Public Road and apprehended them; during the process, it was alleged that one of the public-spirited citizens shot Clarke and inflicted a beating on his accomplice. The men were handed over to the police, who rushed them to the Diamond Public Hospital, where Clarke was pronounced dead on arrival, whilst his accomplice was treated and sent away. He has since been taken into police custody and is assisting with the investigation.”
The father of the dead man, Godfrey Clarke, said that he last saw his son two weeks ago in Georgetown since they do not live together. He said his son had previous brushes with the law and had been released from prison four weeks ago after being on remand for simple larceny. He had spent four months on remand. The senior Clarke said he heard of the incident at “Aron Shop” at Pearl, EBD, but had no idea it involved his son. “I hear that police shoot behind someone, but is now I actually hearing that is he. The last time he come home here he told me he had some construction work at Vega on the West Coast and when I saw him the next day, I ask him if he get paid and he said yes, but his money finished on the sea wall.”
The senior Clarke said he had advised his son to attend church and had asked him to change his life and get a job. Adding that his son’s mother died over a decade ago, Mr Clarke said he had spoken to his son on numerous occasions about his intentions and plans for his life. The elder Clarke said his son never took his guidance and the end result was death.