A 25-year-old man of ‘D’ Field Sophia, Greater Georgetown was on Wednesday arrested for the murder of Peter Gonsalves, who was gunned down in Garnett Street, Kitty in December last.
During interrogation, the man reportedly confessed to the murder. He told agents of the Major Crimes Unit that on the night of the shooting, his accomplice contacted him via phone and informed him that he was heading to his house, claiming that he had to get an XR motorcycle.
The suspect explained that his accomplice turned up at his home with a motorcycle and told him that they have to make some spins with the aim of robbing someone of an XR motorcycle. He joined his accomplice, and was given a handgun and was instructed to shoot anyone who resisted.
However, they made several spins around the Sophia area before going to Kitty, where they saw Gonsalves and a pillion rider on an XR motorcycle.
The suspect further told Police that Gonsalves and his friend were on David Street Kitty in the vicinity of “Cheese Please”. As the men pulled off, he and his accomplice followed them to Garnett Street, where, in front of Red Bar, they rode alongside Gonsalves and held onto him.
“I take out the gun and fire a shot at the man, and he came off the motorcycle,” the suspect recalled.
The suspect stated that he jumped onto the now dead man’s motorcycle, but the pillion rider held on to him, so he discharged another round in the direction of Gonsalves and rode away.
Later that night, the man in custody told detectives, he handed over the motorcycle and the firearm to his accomplice in Sophia.
A few days later, he said, his accomplice told him that he had sold the motorcycle and handed him $40,000.
After admitting to the crime, he took the Police to the crime scene and pointed out the area where the shooting had taken place.
Meanwhile, this publication understands that the suspect took the detectives on Thursday evening to a location at Kuru Kururu, on the Soesdyke/Linden Highway, where the motorcycle was recovered.
The Police are in the process of completing the file to be send to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for legal advice.
Meanwhile, a few days after the shooting, 28-year-old Kacey Heyliger was charged for the heinous crime, and was remanded to prison. A taxi driver, Heyliger, of Shell Road, Kitty, was charged with committing the murder in the course or furtherance of a robbery.
The Police have stated that on December 7, 2020 at Garnett Street, Kitty, Heyliger murdered Gonsalves, 60, of Pere Street, Kitty. He appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan.
