Erin man killed on beach...father, other man wounded

A brazen daylight shooting at Erin beach on Thursday left a 28-year-old fisherman dead and two other men, including his father, wounded.

Demaine Benjamin, 28, also called “Gutty” and “Fathead,” died near the fishing depot.

Benjamin was the cousin of 37-year-old Jentle Jade Dates, also called “Porkie,” who was gunned down at the same beach on January 5. The two lived in the same house with relatives a short distance away at Erin Beach Road.

Benjamin’s father Eli Benjamin, 62, of Rancho Quemado, and a man identified as Luis “Killer” Adams, were taken to the Siparia District Health Facility.

The latest killing happened at about 11.30 am.

Benjamin, the father of one, was selling at his stall in the fishing depot when a car drove by and four men got out and opened fire on him. He ran a short distance away, but was chased and shot him a few times.

The spot where Benjamin took his last breath was metres away from where men shot Dates.

Benjamin’s father and Dates’ uncle, Eli, was at a stall closer to the beach, and the gunmen also shot him.

The killers returned to the car, which sped off.

People believe Adams, who was in the depot, might have been hit by a stray bullet and was not a target.

Several other people were at the beach but ran to safety when they heard the gunshots.

One of Benjamin’s relatives, who asked to remain anonymous, told Newsday Dates lived on the top floor of the family’s home and Benjamin on the ground floor.

“Gutty was still in mourning. Since Porkie’s killing, he hardly went to the beach. I do not know if people were marking him and knew he was here today. I do not know if this is a hit on the Benjamin family,” the relative said.

“He was a loving uncle of six. He worked as a fish vendor, a fruit vendor, fisherman and hunter. He was always willing to help others. His brother is usually on the beach, so if he was here today, he too might have been killed.”

ASPs Ramdeo and Mathura, Insp Haynes, Cpl Smith and PC Smith and other Homicide Bureau Region III and South Western Division officers visited the scene.

Dates was sitting and liming with a group of friends on the tray of his white pick-up van at around 5. 30 pm on January 5, when gunmen opened fire, hitting him.

The killers were passengers in a wagon that pulled up and parked near the group. They got out and started shooting. People ran off, and the gunmen continued shooting Dates. The killers returned to the wagon, which drove off.

No one has been arrested for the killings.