… says the man also never made an effort to visit the Police CID Headquarters
The man who claimed to be an eyewitness to the killing of three alleged bandits on the Kingston Seawall road, was never on the roof of the Guyana Softball Association on Carifesta Avenue, as he claimed.
This is according to Acting Top Cop, David Ramnarine on Thursday during a press conference.
Ramnarine asserted that investigators are presently in possession of three key statements which have indicated that the “eyewitness”- Devon Lyte- a labourer, was working on the ground floor of the said building at the time of the shooting on March 15, 2018.
“Our investigators are in possession of three statements. Well, in fact, several statements, but three of which are very very instructive to the extent that Mr Devon Lyte was never ever, I repeat, never ever on the roof of the building he claimed he was on at the Press Conference on Monday. One of the statements is from the Contractor, one from the Sub-Contractor and one from the Security Supervisor,” he explained.
Further, the Top Cop told the media that based on information delivered to him, Lyte’s Attorney, Nigel Hughes visited the location where his client claimed to be on the day of the shooting and was provided with this startling information.
“In fact, I have to let you know and let the world know that on yesterday’s date, the learned Attorney went to that location where his client, seemingly, was on the roof on the day in question, March the 15th, and he enquired as to where specifically his client was and on being told that his client is a labourer, not a skilled worker, worked on the ground floor that’s on the ground with what you call a ransom, a mixer, he left,” Ramnarine said.
He also posited that Lyte has not reported to work since Sunday last- one day before he appeared on television claiming to have seen what transpired between police and the alleged criminals on March 15.
Hours after the shooting which led to the death of three men, Dextroy Cordis also known as Dutty, of Grove, East Bank Demerara, Kwame Assanah, of Buxton, East Coast Demerara and Errol Adams also known as Dynamite, police in a statement related that the men were followed by an unmarked police vehicle after they were seen trailing a customer who had left the Scotia Bank on Robb Street, Georgetown.
The police claimed that in the vicinity of the seawalls, the men in the black Toyota car opened fire on them and in retaliation; they returned fire fatally wounding them. Another suspect was said to have escaped on a motorcycle.
However, on Monday last, Lyte during a press conference held at his attorney’s office read from a prepared statement, claiming that on the day Cordis, Assanah, and Adams were fatally shot, he was working on the roof of the Guyana Softball Association on Carifesta Avenue and would have witnessed the incident.
His account of the incident was vastly different from the statement issued by the police.
According to Lyte, “there were two vehicles, the black vehicle which had the now three deceased in the front which was being followed by the silver [police] vehicle.
The eyewitness claimed to have heard “banging” sounds and upon looking west, observed that the road had been blocked off by police and the lone two vehicles were travelling east along the Seawall road when gunfire erupted.
“The car in front stopped, the driver of the silver car got out walked to him, put him [Assanah] on the ground, was actually assaulting him on the ground and then after that there was gunfire…at the time the gunfire erupted he (officer) was physically standing over the guy who was on the ground,” Lyte said through his attorney.
He also recounted that the driver of the black car was “on the ground being physically assaulted for more than ten minutes before the gunfire erupted” resulting in the death of the three men.
The self proclaimed eyewitness also alleged that there was “no motorcycle which disappeared with any pillion rider or any mysterious rider,” as said by the police.
At the conference today, Ramnarine posited that since making his statement public, Lyte has not made any effort to visit the Police CID Headquarters to be interrogated by investigators.
President David Granger has since ordered that an investigation be conducted into the killing of the three suspected bandits.
