Suspect flushed out of Belmont drain charged

Head of the Port of Spain division Snr Supt Raymond Thom says a man flushed out of a drain and arrested by police on September 27 was charged for the possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Newsday contacted Thom by phone on October 2 for an update.

Police said around 11 am on September 27, two gunmen shot Curtis Jones and Tafawa Roberts  in Serraneau Road, Belmont.

The gunmen then ran off. The shot men were taken to hospital.

Officers from the Port of Spain Division Task Force and the Investigation and Operations Unit (IAU) received a tip-off that two suspects jumped out of a Nissan Tiida car, ran towards and jumped into a covered drain opposite St Francois Girls' College.

In a search that lasted over four hours on September 27, along St Francois Valley Road in Belmont, police arrested one man at 3.28 pm. The man was seen at the manhole entrance as officers pointed pistols and machine guns at him. He was quickly pulled out of the drain and appeared unhurt.

Soaked by the drain water, the man, who was wearing a blue jersey and grey three-quarter pants, was handcuffed, lifted bodily and put in the tray of a police van, which sped off.

The search for the other suspect continued.

Less than a minute after the first suspect surrendered, officers were seen firing three shots into a section of the drain network.

"Put down the gun!" an officer shouted, before telling another officer the suspect was in the drain.

Several more gunshots were heard. It was unclear if these shots were from police, the suspect or if there was a shootout.

Minutes later, an officer ran into the hole and began struggling with something. He then pulled a man out of the drain. The man, who was motionless and bleeding from his chest, was quickly put in the back of the police van and taken away, presumably to hospital. He died later on September 27.

Thom said the had been identified as 18-year-old Jordan Francois.

Thom said while the other suspect was charged for the possession of the firearm and ammunition, the investigation into the initial shooting of Jones and Roberts was still ongoing.