FIVE of the 12 men wanted in connection with the 2022 unrest at the Mon Repos Market, East Coast Demerara (ECD), turned themselves over to the police on Thursday, in the company of their attorney, Dexter Todd.

The five men are: Tony MacKinnon, Carlos Kingston, Terrence Adolphus Nedd, Antony English, and Keon Glasgow, who are all East Coast Demerara residents.

The men are in custody at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters, where they are assisting the police with their investigation into the matter.

This publication understands that they have all denied their involvement in the crime.

On Wednesday, the police issued wanted bulletins for the men under the Acts of Terrorism, contrary to Section 309 (A) (1) (b) (ii) of the Criminal Law (Offences) Act, Chapter 8:01, which occurred on the East Coast of Demerara on the June 28, 2022.

During the ordeal, vendors were robbed and beaten, and had their stalls and valuables destroyed.

Meanwhile, those still at large are: ‘Blammi’, from Golden Grove, ECD; ‘Dave’, from Nabaclis, ECD; ‘Burke’, from Nabaclis, ECD; ‘Layne’, from Nabaclis, ECD; ‘Kaldin’, from Enmore North, ECD; and ‘Peters’, from Haslington North and Victoria, ECD.

On June 28, the protest initially started at Golden Grove, where persons took to the streets, calling for justice after they were misled by a false media report that the police officer purportedly involved in the killing of Quindon Bacchus had been released.

What started as a verbal chant quickly escalated as scores of persons blocked sections of the ECD corridor with debris, and eventually made their way to Mon Repos, where they reportedly beat vendors, robbed them and destroyed their property. The government later issued compensation to the affected vendors.

Following the protest, 16 men appeared at the Cove and John Magistrate’s Court for allegedly engaging in riotous behaviour. However, no arrests were made for the robbery of the vendors.

Police Headquarters had said in a press release that at approximately 14:30hrs on June 10, 2022, an intelligence-led operation was being carried out based on information received earlier that day, and police ranks made contact with a 22-year-old construction worker who provided certain information.

The police said that due to the information, the worker guided the ranks to Bacchus, who was in possession of a firearm which he intended to sell to one of the ranks.

The armed plainclothes rank made arrangements to purchase the firearm from Bacchus, who left and then returned with the gun.

“In the process of handing over the firearm to the rank, an alarm was raised. As a result, the now-deceased man ran in a southern direction and discharged a round in the direction of the rank, who drew his service pistol and returned fire,” police stated.

“Bacchus then ran further [sic] south and jumped into a yard, and the rank gave chase, and while nearby, Bacchus discharged several other rounds towards the rank who took cover and returned fire, hitting the now-deceased man about his body.”

Police said that Bacchus fell to the ground along with the firearm, which was later identified as a .380 pistol and a magazine with one round.

The policeman then took possession of the firearm and ammunition. Bacchus was picked up in a conscious state and escorted to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he was seen and examined by a doctor who pronounced him dead while receiving treatment.

Police said that the recovered firearm and ammunition were taken to the Cove and John Police Station, where it was photographed and dusted for prints.

Lance Corporal Kristoff DeNobrega was subsequently remanded to prison for the murder of Bacchus, while his colleagues Lance Corporal Thurston Simon, and Cadet Officer Dameion McLennon, were accused of obstruction for their alleged actions following the shooting incident.