Shortly after Ricardo “Gladiator” Welch pulled out the driveway of his Parang Boulevard, Sam Boucaud, Santa Cruz home at around 9.20 am yesterday, three gunmen emerged from a nearby vehicle.
They ambushed the former talk show radio host, shooting him several times in the front seat of his Toyota Prado.
The vehicle then crashed into the wall of the house obliquely opposite Welch’s orange two-storey home. The men escaped in the waiting car, as Welch took his final breaths in the front seat of the vehicle.
A relative of Welch was in the front passenger seat at the time of the shooting but was reportedly not injured during the attack.
Police said they had no clear motive for Welch’s death but were said to be working on several theories. They noted that he had received threats on social media, but also noted that he had several pending court matters.
The controversial talk show host had spent a significant amount of time in and out court over the years, mainly for lawsuits.
The most notable case was a defamation case brought against Andy Williams, Devon Welch (no relation) and Juliet Davy, which saw him awarded $700,000 in April 2017. In that case, Justice Mira Dean-Armorer ruled that the trio had defamed Welch by labelling him a homosexual during a programme on More 104.7fm.
Welch had also sued the station but it denied culpability, as they claimed the unscripted shows were privately produced by a company which paid for them to be broadcast.
Justice Dean-Armorer agreed and relieved the radio station of responsibility in her judgment.
However, Williams had appealed that ruling, after a legal application was made by Welch which would have required Williams to sell his home to repay the debt owed to Welch.
Williams’ lawyers made submissions in the matter this week and Welch was expected to respond next week. The matter was expected to be heard in November.
As news of his death spread yesterday, tributes came from a few of his colleagues. Isha Wells paid tribute to him on her 91.9fm programme yesterday afternoon.
Wendell Eversley, a close friend of Welch, took to social media saying he was in pain after learning of his death.
Veteran journalist Andy Johnson, who introduced Welch to local media, first by granting him a column at the T&T Guardian in 1996 then radio show on Power 102.1fm in 2001, said while Welch was not a traditional journalist, he used his talents to build himself.
“He used the platform to become a media hitman for people. He would take money from people to lick up other people, whether it was politically or otherwise.
“He used that to his benefit but he built a massive audience in the process,” Johnson said in a telephone interview.
“He had wit that he used to his benefit, you can’t take that from him,” Johnson added.