Two arrested for Trini’s murder

Police in St Lucia are questioning two men in connection with the Old Year’s Day murder of two men, one of them a Trinidadian. The victims, identified as Richie Ramdass, 24, of Siewdass Road in Freeport and Vincente Jose Mendoza Pacheco, 26, of Caracas were shot dead at Cantonment Vieux Fort, St Lucia.

Ramdass was on vacation at the time of his murder. St Lucian police retrieved an identification card from Richie’s wallet and were able to get the information regarding his nationality and address in order to contact his family. Ramdass’ brother Ravi said he begged his brother to return home for Christmas as their mother kept asking for him. Ramdass worked as a ‘pipe-fitter’ with Super Industrial Services Limited (SIS) in Couva but was off for the holidays and took up an offer to go to St Lucia. A relative told Newsday that an autopsy scheduled to be performed yesterday in St Lucia was rescheduled for today.

She said that Ravi is expected to leave the country for St Lucia today. “He would be there to identify the body and answer any additional questions the police require. I still can’t believe it,” the relative said. She added that the family is struggling to cope with the death.

Ramdass, the relative said, did not deserve such a death. She described him as a kind and caring young man. The relative added, “We just want to collect his body to make the preparations for final rites, but saying goodbye to him I know would not be easy.” St Lucian police also discovered a 9 mm gun and a sum of Euro currency in a vehicle near to the crime scene which they believe are linked to the killings.