Police: Fourth dead Mayaro bandit yet to be named

Senior police said on Wednesday they were still awaiting confirmation of the identity of the fourth bandit shot dead during a house invasion in Mayaro on Monday.

Claims circulated on social media regarding his name, which was also published in a daily newspaper (not Newsday)

Up to Wednesday afternoon, the police said no relatives had come forward to name the dead man.

"People are saying the fourth person is Akini Simmons. Until he is positively identified, we cannot say who he was or where he was from," a senior policeman in the Eastern Division told Newsday on Wednesday.

The police said on Tuesday relatives identified three of the bodies.

They were Odel Prieto, 40, of Covigne Road, Diego Martin, Akel George, 29, of Second Caledonia, Morvant and Keshon Rojas, 23, of Edinburgh 500 in Chaguanas.

Rojas previously lived at Second Caledonia, the police said. In August 2020, he was charged with two counts of false imprisonment, two counts of robbery with violence, assault by threats, using threatening language, and receiving stolen goods. The charges stemmed from various robberies and home invasions in the Western Division. He was among four people, including a female relative from Edinburgh 500, charged in connection with the crimes.

Prieto, George, Rojas, and the other man were killed in a police-involved shooting at the home of a businessman at Krista Park, Beaumont Road, Mayaro, around 9.15 am on Monday.

A police statement on Tuesday said the man and his wife entered their home and found seven gunmen they. The men tied the couple’s hands and feet with duct tape. Their teenage son, who was in the house, had already been bound with duct tape before the couple arrived.

The statement did not name the deceased bandits or the victims.

Eastern Division police, acting on information, arrived and saw the armed men leaving the premises.

On seeing the police, the men reportedly started shooting. The police returned fire, hitting four and killing them on the spot.

They found a 12-gauge shotgun, three pistols, an air rifle, and cash.

The three other suspects escaped by dashing off into nearby bushes. The search for them was ongoing on Wednesday.