Laventille death brings murder toll to 29

A 59-year-old man was shot dead in Laventille yesterday. His murder along with the stabbing death of a 24-year-old Jamaican man of Union Road, Marabella, on Tuesday night, pushed the murder toll to 29. The figure for last year was 377, with 38 murders being recorded in January, according to statistics from the Crime and Problem Analysis Branch of the Police Service (CAPA).

According to police reports, around 10.15 am, residents of Reddy Mix Private Road in Laventille, reported hearing several gunshots. Police from the Besson Street CID responded and found Carlton Weekes, of Third Street, Beetham Gardens, unconscious in a drain.

Weekes, who was shot several times, was pronounced dead on the scene by a district medical officer. A post-mortem will be done on his body today. Residents told investigators Weekes would regularly walk along their street to visit several nearby panyards.

Homicide detectives had not established a motive for Weekes’ murder up to late yesterday, but believe he might have been an innocent victim in an ongoing feud between rival gangs from Beetham Gardens and Laventille. Meanwhile, Police have not identified the man who was shot dead on Tuesday afternoon at Mango Alley, Trou Macaque, Laventille.

Around 4.20 pm, the man, who police said was not from the community, was walking when he was confronted by a gunman who shot him several times. He was taken to the Port-of-General Hospital by police from the Port-of-Spain Task Force but died shortly after being admitted.

Investigators yesterday appealed to members of the public who might be able to identify the victim to contact the Besson Street Police Station at 625-8008. ASP Ajith Persad, Insp Sahadeo Singh and Cpl Charles Budrie are probing both murders.