…another four including doctor for allegedly aiding bandits

By Clestine Juan

AMID high drama, eight men, including a medical doctor, were, on Tuesday, arraigned before the Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in connection with the murder of gold miner, Deon Stoll called ‘Mow’ two weeks ago.
Stoll was gunned down during an attempted robbery in front of El Dorado Trading, a gold-mining business on Da Silva Street, Kitty.

Shane ‘Demon’ Morgan called ‘Dellon’, a 33-year-old graphic artist of East La Penitence; Roberto Sankar, a 28-year-old businessman of Pigeon Island, East Coast Demerara; Wayne St Hill, 38-year-old graphic artist of Dowding Street, Kitty; Steve Rollox, a 38-year-old taxi driver of Peters Hall, East Bank Demerara, were charged for killing Stoll on October 14, 2019, at Da Silva Street, Newtown, Kitty during the course of a robbery.
Meanwhile, Odessa St Hill called ‘baby’, a 37-year-old graphic artist of Delph Street, Campbellville; Doctor Alonzo Dos Santos, a 33-year-old who is a second lieutenant in the Guyana Defence Force, of Prospect, East Bank Demerara; Duncan Vanveild called ‘blackbody’, 36-year-old welder of ‘B’ Field Sophia and Keith Mc Kenzie, 32-year-old taxi driver of East La Penitence were charged for receiving and comforting Morgan, between October 14 and 22, after he committed the murder.

Morgan and Wayne St. Hill were represented by attorney-at-law Adrian Thompson in association with Ravindra Mohabir, while Sankar was represented by Clevaun Humphrey in association with Gwendolyn I. Bristol, and Rollox was unrepresented.
Odessa St. Hill was represented by attorneys-at-law Latchmie Rahamat, Eusi Anderson represented Dos Santos while Melville Duke represented McKenzie.
Rahamat and Anderson made applications for bail and told the court that police ranks of the Major Crimes Unit had told their clients that they would have been used as witnesses for the state, but were charged also.
Attorney-at-law Duke told the court that his client has no knowledge of who Morgan was or has any connections to him.

Duke is contending that his client, who is attached to a City Taxi base was working overtime to pay for his daughter’s wedding and on October 22, he was approached by a man, who requested to be taken to Berbice. However, during the journey, his client’s motor car was stopped at a police road block at Cove & John and his passenger, whom he later learned was Shane Morgan, was arrested.

The attorney said that he had video footage from the taxi base to prove his case. Meanwhile, Morgan’s attorney, Thompson told the court that his client was nabbed with a “puncture wound” and not a “gunshot wound” as the police claimed.
Police Prosecutor, Inspector Neville Jeffers, objected to Odessa St Hill, Alonzo Dos Santos, Duncan Vanveild, and Keith Mc Kenzie being granted bail based on the seriousness of the charge and the penalty it attracts.

According to information provided, the St. Hills and Dellon Morgan are cousins. However, during the course of the botched robbery committed on Stoll, Morgan was shot.
Sankar was seen on CCTV footage in the vicinity trailing Stoll’s car and was acting in a suspicious manner. He was also charged, years ago, for robbery, but the charge was dismissed due to the victim’s absence from court.
It is alleged that Rollox was the getaway driver, while Morgan and Wayne St. Hill were the shooters. Odessa St. Hill took Dr. Dos Santos to Vanveild’s home where Morgan was hiding out from the police. It is alleged that the doctor treated Morgan’s gunshot wound.
McKenzie was the driver of the motor car which Morgan was intercepted in at a roadblock on October 22, 2019.

The Chief Magistrate after considering the seriousness of the charges remanded the suspects to prison until November 15, 2019.
Additionally, Morgan, Vanveild and Yagonand Basdeo were jointly charged for the armed robbery committed on China Trading last month.
The trio was not required to plead to the charge which alleged that, on September, 13, 2019, at Robb Street, Georgetown, while being armed with guns, they robbed Yong Quan Bi of $3.2M property of China Trading. The men were remanded to prison until November 19,2019.

Stoll of Essequibo Coast, Region Two and Barima Avenue, Bel Air, Georgetown, died following a shootout with the bandits. It is believed that the bandits had been tracking Stoll for a while and believed he had cash and raw gold when he was cornered. They did not cater for him fighting back.
Police made several inroads into the matter days after the movie-style robbery which was captured by closed circuit television (CCTV).