Farmer shaken after finding two bodies in Chaguaramas

A farmer on his way to tend to his crops at Guave Road, Chaguaramas got the shock of his life when he found the bodies of two men on Friday afternoon.

The men, whose hands were bound, were shot multiple times about their upper bodies. They were yet to be identified up to press time on Friday. Police were called, and the area was cordoned off.

When Newsday went there, two men who the farmer spoke to said the farmer was shaken up after finding the bodies near the Water and Sewerage Authority pump station.

“We just saw the truck driving in and then reversing in a speed. When he (the farmer) jump out, he was shaking. He could only say ‘Bodies tied together, flies on them.’”

Police on the scene told Newsday one of the men is of African descent, fair complexion, and was wearing a white t-shirt, black short pants and black and white Nike sneakers.

The other man of is of East Indian descent and was wearing a green t-shirt and cream short pants.

Police said there were no identifiable markings and or tattoos on either men. Their bodies were taken to the Forensic Sciences Centre.

Those two murders were the latest in a spate over the past seven days.

Four people were killed on August 13.

Morvant residents heard several gunshots around 10 pm near Cotty Trace, Chinapoo Gardens. When police arrived they found Gamal Waldron with multiple gunshot wounds. Waldron, of Pashley Street, Laventille, was charged with stealing an SUV belonging to ex-journalist Khamal Georges from outside a police station in 2018.

Minutes later, police responded to a shooting in Valencia. They found Carlton “Pilato” Sooknanan of Emon Lane, Valencia, dead at his girlfriend’s home. Just after 10.20 pm three men came to the house claiming to be police officers. They opened the window and forced themselves in and shot Sooknanan several times before escaping.

Saleem Deen, 28, and Aaron Maloney, 40, were also killed in two separate incidents that same day.

Deen was at work in Charlieville when three gunmen drove up to him and shot him. He died instantly.

Maloney was walking along Manahambre Roach when he was approached by men who shot him multiple times.

On Sunday, Nikhil Luthra, 34, was liming at the Residence Restaurant and Bar at One Woodbrook Place, just after 2 am, when masked men opened fire on a group he was with. He was killed and two other people wounded.

And a Venezuelan man was stabbed to death in Couva, Roystonia. The man who was identified as Steven Hernandez was found in some bushes off the road.

A Moruga dancehall artiste, Daniel Hamilton, was shot dead in front his home on Monday.

Hamilton, 26, of Poui Trace St Mary’s Village, was shot in the face, head and chest while chatting with a friend around 8.30 pm.

Micah Cipriani, 34, of Roslyn Street, Belmont was shot while walking along St Margaret’s Lane, near Norfolk Street at around 5.55 pm on Monday. He later died at the Port of Spain General Hospital.

The killings continued on Tuesday when gunmen killed Eusibio Roberts, 37, of Mon Repos, Morvant around 7 pm. The father of five died on the scene. The killers then chased after another man who ran through a basketball court where a group of children were playing. They continued firing hitting eight-year-old Javan Price to the left side of his head, and an 11-year-old boy in one of his legs.

Price, who was in critical condition, underwent surgery on Thursday and was said to be improving.

On Tuesday, police responded to a double murder at around 10 pm at Aranguez. They found the bodies of Acori “Bless” Mason, 32, and Rosanne Granger, 28, in a Nissan Almera at the corner of Jubilee Street and Branch Road. Police retrieved 28 spent shells and one live round of 5.56 ammunition. Mason and another man was before a Rio Claro magistrate charged with attempted murder and wounding with intent.

On Wednesday Jessie Bramble ,33, was near his car getting ready to leave for work when a man pulled alongside him and shot him in the neck and head at Las Alturas HDC complex, Lady Young. The suspect ran away. Police said Bramble’s wife took him to the hospital where he died on arrival.

Sometime after 3 pm that day, police found Vincentian dancehall artist Owonnie Hutchinson, 21, dead at Snake Valley, Laventille, weeks before he was expected to return to St Vincent and the Grenadines. He was visiting his sister who lived just a stone’s throw away from where he was shot.

Hours later, hairdresser Victoria Mohammed, 26, of Mc Inroy Street Curepe was shot dead around 9 pm in Arima while liming with a man.

Newsday attempted to reach acting Commissioner of Police Mc Donald Jacob for comment on Friday, but all calls to his phone went unanswered.

At a news conference on Tuesday, Jacob asked members of the public to be patient as steps were taken to peg back the criminal element.

He promised more roadblocks and stop-and-search exercises. He also said 60 police officers have been called out from leave to get "more boots on the ground.”

Between January-August in 2021 the country recorded 228 murders. For the same period in 2022, the murder toll jumped to 369, with two weeks left before the month comes to an end.