–residents appealing for police patrols

RESIDENTS of Lamaha Park in Block PP, East La Penitence, Georgetown are deeply perturbed at the recent resurgence of rampaging bandits, and their concerns have been especially compounded by a lack of police breakthrough with investigations into the robberies committed over the last three weeks or so, as the attacks intensify.

Incidents have ranged from a daring daylight gun-butting assault and robbery of retired Deputy Police Commissioner Clinton Conway at his Lamaha Park home three weeks ago, to a daring daylight car-jacking, beating and robbery of a taxi driver just last week. The police have no leads in any of these crimes.

As is the trend, two men last Monday hired a silver-grey Toyota taxi at the Stabroek car park and requested the driver to take them to Lamaha Park. The unsuspecting driver proceeded on the run, only to end up being beaten and robbed by the men, who executed a well-orchestrated plan in a bid to relieve the driver of his car.

He managed to escape the assault and hide in some bushes, from whence he called 911. The police responded promptly, but the men had made good their escape with the car, having seized the keys in the ordeal.

Over the weekend, there were two separate robbery attacks on the homes of Lamaha Park residents, committed in the wee hours of Sunday, March 9, when bandits stole items from the home of a retired customs officer about six houses east of the home of retired Deputy Police Commissioner Conway.
That robbery was not detected until an occupant of the home awoke some time later to find the door wide open. The men had entered the building (top and bottom flats) by removing louvre panes, which they left on the ground.

And again, in the wee hours of Monday morning, two men broke and entered the home of another resident, who lives about five houses further east of Conway’s. They made a clean sweep of the household items.

Consequently, the fears have returned, since the intruders have, so far, been armed. Thus Lamaha Park residents are appealing to the Guyana Police Force to send occasional patrols through the community, in order to make the police presence felt in hope that that would deter the bandits.

Former Deputy Commissioner Clinton Conway, who was robbed, gun-butted and fired at three weeks ago, is distraught that the police have yet to make a breakthrough in regard to that incident.

(By Shirley Thomas)