Duo arraigned for murder of guard during Vreed-en-Hoop supermarket robbery

A 24-year-old labourer and a 25-year-old taxi driver, who are accused of fatally shooting a security guard during a robbery on the People’s Supermarket located at Lot ‘F’ New Road, Vreed-en-Hoop, West Coast Demerara (WCD), have been remanded to prison.

Appearing before Senior Magistrate Zamilla Ally-Seepaul in the Leonora Magistrate’s Court were Saeed Alli of Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo (EBE), and Kaden Bailey of Crane.

The men were not required to plead to the charge, which stated that on March 11, 2024, at Lot ‘F’ New Road, Vreed-en-Hoop, they murdered Paul Waterman during the course of a robbery.

Alli and Bailey were remanded to prison and will make another court appearance on June 10, 2024.

Police had reported that Waterman, who was employed by Sheriff Security Service, was on duty at the People’s Supermarket when three men stormed the establishment. Two of the men were armed with handguns, and they held Waterman, the proprietor Ping Xian Lin, 49, and his wife, Li Yan Ohen, 43, at gunpoint.

During the robbery, a scuffle ensued between Waterman and one of the gunmen, resulting in a gunshot.

Waterman was struck and fell to the ground, after which he was relieved of his firearm and phone. The bandits continued their robbery, seizing an undisclosed amount of cash, Digicel and GTT phone cards, one cellphone, and a DVR from the supermarket before fleeing north through Evergreen Street towards Best Village.

Waterman was later pronounced dead. At the time of the incident, the supermarket was open for business, and Waterman was armed with a .32 Taurus pistol with ten matching rounds of ammunition.