…GGDMA urges stepped-up crime fighting posture by security forces

THE Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, and staff of the ministry have expressed condolences to the relatives and friends of Mr. Deon Stoll, a gold miner who was killed during an attack by gunmen on Monday morning at DaSilva Street, New Town Kitty, Georgetown.

In a terse statement, the ministry said Stoll was a member of the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association. He was also the father of two. “The ministry is thankful for the contributions of Mr. Stoll to the sector. It is our hope that justice be served. May the soul of Deon Stoll rest in peace and may his relatives and friends find the strength needed to overcome this trying time,” the statement concluded.

For its part, the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association call for justice for the brutal slaying of Stoll. “The Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association [GGDMA] is deeply saddened over the cold-blooded killing of…Stoll as he was about to conduct business at the establishment of El Dorado Trading.”

The association expresses its profound condolences to the family of the late Mr. Stoll, whose life was snatched away from him as he sought to conduct business in a transparent manner like any other decent citizen. The GGDMA also called on the Guyana Police Force to focus its attention on addressing real crime and the removing of criminal elements from our society.

“The association also calls on the Minister of Public Security, the Hon. Khemraj Ramjattan, to address this upsurge in crime across our country. How many more must be robbed, or be slaughtered before it is accepted that we have a crime issue in Guyana which must be addressed? The time for seriousness is now. The Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Defence Force must weed out the rogue elements from among their ranks since all they do is tarnish the image of the force and the law-abiding officers.”

According to GGDMA, miners, businesspersons and businesses must feel secure to conduct businesses in and around the city and the country as a whole. “That is the duty of the Guyana Police Force to protect and serve.”

The GGDMA asked where are the police patrols? What has happened to the hundreds of vehicles and motorcycles the Government of Guyana has given to the Guyana Police Force? Are these vehicles being used for their intended purposes? What are the Guyana Police Force’s plans to address this upsurge in crime? The mining body said it refuses to sit idly by and allow its miners to be slaughtered by these rogue elements. “We urge all our miners to take full security precaution and call on the joint forces to take the necessary actions so that our streets, neighbourhoods, interior and towns can be safe to live and conduct business.”

Stoll, called “Mow” of Charity, Essequibo Cost, Essequibo and Barima Avenue, Bel Air Park, succumbed to his injuries at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation. Also injured during the incident were Stoll’s driver, Clayton Powley, 43, of 326 Section ‘C’ Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, who is hospitalised along with El Dorado Trading security guard, Rory Deegs, who was shot twice and is in a stable condition at a private city hospital.

Police later discovered the body of a man, suspected to be one of the bandits, who had escaped from the scene, with two gunshot wounds to the chest, abandoned at Tucville Squatting Area. He has been identified as 18-year-old Olijah Chesney, of Lot 562 D Field Sophia, Greater Georgetown. He was also identified as a member of the Guyana Defence Force.

Enquiries revealed that Stoll and his driver had earlier visited a business place on Sheriff Street and did a business transaction where they collected a sum of cash, after which they proceeded in a Toyota Carina 212 car, PPP 7227, to El Dorado Trading at 63 Da Silva Street Kitty to conduct another transaction. They were trailed by the bandits’ car. As soon as the gold miner pulled over at the gold dealership, the bandits’ car also pulled up and the two bandits exited the car wearing caps with their faces partially covered with handkerchiefs.

One armed with a knife approached the driver while the other approached the businessman with a handgun.
Reports further indicated that the robber with the knife ordered the driver to get out the car while the other bandit told the businessman, not to draw his firearm. The driver then pushed the car door towards the bandit with the knife and came out of the car and was pushing the bandit away. As a result the bandit with the gun shot the driver to his right hand between the elbow and shoulder.

The businessman then drew his licensed firearm and he and the bandit with the gun had a shootout. However, the businessman received a gunshot injury to the right side pelvis. The bandit, who was also shot, ran away and joined the car with his accomplice, and they made good their escape.

Meanwhile, the security guard of El Dorado Trading, 40-year-old Rory Deegs, who was armed with a pistol, opened the gate of the business to see what was going on, when it was alleged that the businessman, in a panic, discharged two rounds into his direction and he received injuries to the right hand.

Meanwhile, surveillance footage shows the businessman’s car driving on Da Silva Street towards the gold dealership with the gunmen’s car, a white Toyota Carina 212, trailing behind. Just as Stoll’s vehicle entered onto the gold dealership’s driveway, the robbers stopped behind and two men jumped out of the vehicle and ran to the driver and passenger doors simultaneously, resulting in a scuffle.

During the scuffle to enter the driver’s seat to grab something, Stoll was seen on surveillance footage returning fire, after he was shot, and his driver wrestling one of the robbers. From the surveillance footage, it appeared as if the bandits were not successful in robbing the gold dealer or the driver of any of their valuables.