SOME residents of Non Pariel, East Coast Demerara, said they breathed sighs of relief when they heard that feared fugitive Courtney James had been shot dead on Monday.

Speaking while many others were on the streets discussing the Monday night shootout, they said they can now venture out in the village after dark and return home late after work.

The villagers thanked the Police for putting away the dangerous man whom they described as one who ruthlessly prowled in search of unsuspecting victims, mostly women.

The bandit, who was gunned down in a hail of bullets during an exchange with lawmen had perpetrated many crimes at Non Pariel.

Police were on the trail of James and an accomplice since Saturday and the gunfire Monday ended with his bullet riddled body on which a cellular phone and an address book with the numbers of three ranks were found.

Reports said the phone numbers indicated that James used to be informed of Police movements and was mostly one step ahead of those who tried, on many occasions, to capture him.

An investigation has since begun into that and Police are still hunting James accomplice who remains at large.

A Police release disclosed that James was killed about 08:30 h Monday in an exchange of gunfire at Alexander Village, Georgetown.

A wanted bulletin had been issued for James on April 22 and the day he died he had been seen by a mobile Police patrol jumping over a fence but, when challenged, discharged two rounds at the ranks who returned fire and wounded him.

James was pronounced dead on arrival at Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) and a .32 revolver with three live rounds and two spent shells were recovered at the scene of the shooting.

He was the prime suspect in armed robberies between November 26, 2008 and May 14, 2009, including that on Magistrate Nigel Hawke and his wife, at their Non Pariel home.

James is also alleged to have committed 33 other armed robberies and raped six of his victims while robbing them.

He eluded arrest Saturday, May 16, 2009, by fleeing a building at Haslington, also on East Coast Demerara, which was searched by Police who found an AK-47 rifle with eight matching rounds and a .32 ‘Taurus’, leading to another man being apprehended.