By Clifford Stanley

THE bandit who was accidentally shot dead by his accomplice on Thursday night has been identified as 35-year-old Jermaine Jerrick of Ann’s Grove, East Coast Demerara.

The man was pronounced dead on arrival at the Fort Wellington Hospital, West Coast Berbice (WCB), and the police have since confirmed his identity in a press release.

According to the police report, at about 19:30hrs on Thursday, two men, respectively armed with a handgun and a knife, entered a fuel service centre at Onderneeming, WCB, held up the three pump attendants, and took away $80,000. During the incident, the robber with the firearm discharged a round to scare the victims, but it struck his accomplice to the head. The bandit with the firearm then carjacked a silver-grey Allion, PTT 2704, from a customer and escaped.

Police have launched an investigation into the matter, but no one has thus far been arrested.

The accidental shooting of the bandit at the fuel station at Onderneeming, West Coast Berbice, turned out to be the final chapter in the criminal life of Jerrick.

Jerrick, formerly of Ann’s Grove Village, East Coast Demerara, was identified by relatives who viewed his remains at a funeral parlour at Fort Wellington late on Thursday night, a few hours after he met his demise. He had been on the run from the police since July 2013, when he escaped from custody at Cove and John Police Station, seriously injuring a policeman in the process.

On Saturday, his wife who lives at Number 30 Village, West Coast Berbice, and a young man whose telephone number was found in his cellphone, were arrested. Two others were up to last night assisting the police with their investigation.

The car which had been hijacked by Jerrick’s shooter was found abandoned at Number 9 Village, West Coast Berbice, about six miles from the scene of the robbery and shooting. The vehicle had apparently run out of gas.

Up to late last Saturday night, police were still looking for the bandit who accidentally shot Jerrick dead, ending his criminal career which began making the news some six years ago.

GANG MEMBER
In 2010, Jerrick had been identified as a member of a five-man criminal gang that carried out a reign of terror in the goldfields of the Cuyuni in Region Seven (Cuyuni/Mazaruni).
Dubbed the Aranka Gang, the heavily armed men beat and robbed miners of their gold on several occasions. Jerrick and other gang members were subsequently hunted down and arrested by a party of policemen specially assigned to close down their operations.

In 2011, while on remand at the Georgetown Prison, he severely wounded a prison inmate named Randy Joseph, reportedly a former Buxton gang member, during a fracas in the prison compound. The beating he inflicted on Joseph was said to be in retaliation for a beating he had received at the hands of some Buxton gang members a few days before.

On July 6, 2013, Jerrick was being held at the Cove and John Police Station on a possession of narcotics matter when he made a daring escape. He was being held in one of the lock-ups when he demanded to go to the outdoor toilet, at about 06:30hrs. Police Constable Elton Benjamin accompanied him, and stood guard outside the outhouse for about five minutes while Jerrick used the facility. On coming out of the toilet, Jerrick pushed the constable down and started to run. Constable Benjamin ran behind the fleeing prisoner and managed to catch up with him in a rice field about half a mile away.

On being cornered, Jerrick picked up a piece of wood and dealt the policeman a blow to his head, but the policeman continued in dogged pursuit.
They both ended up in a nearby trench, but Jerrick briefly managed to get away. He tried stealing a bicycle that was left lying on a dam, but abandoned that move when he was confronted by the owner.

The persistent cop caught up with him, and after another brief scuffle, they again ended up in a trench. Sensing that the cop was not letting up, the notorious criminal became desperate, grabbed a bottle and stabbed the young policeman under his jaw. The policeman fell and Jerrick made his escape.

The policeman later recounted that Jerrick had shed all his clothing while running away, even down to his briefs.
“He was naked when he ran away; naked as he born,” the constable had said.

Jerrick had since been a wanted man. He was suspected to have gone into hiding in Suriname and had since not been seen, until Thursday when, ironically, he met his demise at the hands of one of his kind during the robbery at the Hopetown gas station.