A lone bandit brandishing a cutlass and wearing a maternity dress, broke into several homes in Upper Corentyne, Berbice over the weekend.
Reports are the man broke in to three homes at Number 45 and 46 Villages and attempted to enter a fourth where an elderly couple lives.
The first incident occurred about 22:30h on Saturday at a home in Number 45 Village. After gaining entry by forcing open a window, the man ransacked the family’s kitchen and escaped with valuables.
Moments later, he went to the home of Melessa Narine of Lot 13 Number 45 Village. At the time, the seven months pregnant Narine was asleep. The woman woke up after she felt a cold object at her neck and the glare of lights on her face. The intruder, who was wearing one of her maternity dresses and had a towel over his head, held a cutlass to her neck, she recalled, and demanded money and jewellery.
Narine told this publication that she attempted to escape after handing over $22,200, a gold chain and a gold ring. She explained that she watched the bandit pick up her bicycle and ride out of the yard.
According to Narine, when she went outside she discovered her car was broken in to, but the intruder was unable to escape with it since the battery was disconnected.
Shortly after that incident, Somwattie Pertab, 77, and her 79-year-old husband, Pertab Rameshar, heard strange sounds in their home.
Pertab told this publication that her husband recommended that she turn on the exterior light and remain quiet. She explained that after switching on the light, the sound stopped and shortly after she raised an alarm.
This alerted neighbours who rushed to their assistance and they discovered that attempts were made to open a window on the lower flat of the two-storey house. The would-be intruder left behind a towel which he had used to attempt to hold the window open.
Meanwhile, at Number 46 Village, Kerpal Dammar said he saw a strange bicycle parked on the road in front of his yard which was something unusual at that time. “The bicycle look like a new bicycle.”
The licensed firearm holder noted that he loaded his gun and waited to see who would be coming for the bicycle, as his dogs barked continuously. Ten minutes later, a man dressed in black was seen walking along the side of his yard. “He had nothing in his hands, so I decided not to shot at him, but to fire a warning shot to see if he would surrender. He did not surrender, so I fired three more rounds in the air. From there, he ran and picked up the bicycle and rode away.”
Dammar, who operated a trucking service, said they gave chase but only found some female clothing the man was wearing at the time.
He then discovered that the entire lower flat of his home was ransacked. Sweets and chocolate were removed from a bus which was parked under his house.
A bag with $8000 worth of textbooks was also stolen. “He mix tea and he drink and he eat biscuits and I had apples and grapes in the fridge and he eat out all. In the cupboard, I had two bottles of pepper sauce and I still don’t know why he took the pepper sauce,” the businessman said. The Police were alerted and are investigating.
