Homicide Investigators now believe the brazen double-murder at South Park in broad daylight on Thursday (27th January 2022) was the result of a well-planned execution, meant to silence a gang member who had information that could have assisted Police in solving at least four (4) murders. The gang member, Malik Straker, also known as ‘M1’ and ‘Molly,’ 31, of Wallerfield, Arima, also had pending Court matters for several serious crimes. Straker, along with Joel Chambers, 29, of Morvant had no way of escaping when gunmen pulled up in a Volkswagen Jetta and opened fire on their silver AD wagon, in which they seated in the car park of South Park. Both men were in the front seats. High-powered guns were used by the killers and so far, no eyewitnesses have come forward — even though the Mall is a high-traffic area. Police believe that Straker had vital information about last year’s murders of Kareem Walters, also known as ‘Pinto Boss’ and ‘Crime Boss’ of Pinto Road in Arima, Gabriel Mitchell, 25, of Pinto Road, Kelvin Gordon, 40, of Arima, and Marcus ‘Papa’ Thomas of Valencia. Guardian Media was told by Police that Straker had pending matters at the Arima and Sangre Grande Magistrates’ Court for kidnapping for ransom, false imprisonment, attempted murder, possession of ammunition and firearm, robbery with aggravation, malicious woundings and common assault. Meanwhile, the other man who was killed, Chambers, was charged in 2018 for malicious damage, marijuana trafficking, dangerous driving, driving without a Driver’s Permit and without a certificate of insurance. Amateur video circulated on social media on Thursday, showing persons peeping through the bullet-riddled windows, trying to figure out how many bodies were inside the wagon, before Police arrived on the scene. Several other vehicles were in the car park at the time of the terrifying incident, however, there were no reports of damage to the other vehicles or injury to anyone else in the car park. A man who was parked about two (2) cars away, told reporters he had left his car about ten (10) minutes before the shooting. He said he arrived at the Mall around 11:45am and went to the gym. Having heard the loud explosions inside the gym, he did not think they were gunshots at the time. The man explained, “We heard it in the gym but we did not know that it was bullets, most of us thought it was just a tire that had burst, until, I was next to the mirror and I see a guy running along the side of South Park screaming bullets, bullets.” He continued, “I was surprised because is not like is in the night or is not around people, is in South Park, around so much people. And, apparently no one saw it but that’s just so hard to believe because it is a pretty densely populated area, people working in the stores, people going to the gym in and out always hustling, walking all around the place. Is more of a shock than anything that people so brazen.” The man had to wait approximately two (2) hours before he was allowed to leave the car park, as Police were processing the scene. Greater San Fernando Area Chamber of Commerce President, Kiran Singh, expressed concern over the brazen murders. He said, “The business community was certainly alarmed to hear of this recent shooting where two male individuals were murdered in broad daylight in the South Park car park. Of course it doesn’t auger well in the confidence of the business community with customers shopping and so on. We know the TTPS continues to do an extremely good job with restricting serious crimes and petty crimes in the South Western district and the Southern Division.” Singh added, “We wish for these criminal elements to continue to stay where they are from and not to filter down to the districts of the southern region.” Meanwhile, San Fernando Mayor Junia Regrello also expressed his concerns, saying the safety of citizens, children and families in a shopping area must be priority. He noted, “As the Mayor, while I do not have the solution to this problem, I will do my best to ensure safety and security for our citizens. I am going to ask that the owners of the shopping malls including C3, Gulf City Mall, and South Park Mall meet with us, the TTPS and Municipal police next week to prevent another occurrence of incidents such as these. We must tell the criminals do not use San Fernando as a meeting point. Do not use San Fernando as an execution point. When we look at those two men who were killed today they are not from San Fernando. Obviously, it was an arrangement for them to meet in a popular spot for this act to be carried out.” Officers of the Homicide Bureau of Investigations Region 3 are investigating the incident and have sought out nearby CCTV footage to assist. This is a developing story - refresh this page for updates. [Source: CNC3]
We are a small operation. If you've found our articles to be informative, please consider supporting us via PayPal or buying us a coffee. Your contribution is incredibly appreciated and goes a long way. Simply sharing our articles also helps us. Sign up for our free WhatsApp Alerts to be notified as soon as we post breaking news. NEW! Check out our Merchandise Store for high-quality t-shirts, hats and more!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AboutYouthere1 is a website focused on providing useful information, breaking news, entertainment and online shopping in Trinidad and Tobago.
AlertsSupportYouTubeContactPrivacyCategories
All
Archives
March 2024
|
© 2024 Youthere1 Enterprises. All Rights Reserved.