Courtney Crum-Ewing’s murder suspect, ‘Grey Boy’, arrested

Last Updated on Friday, 14 April 2017, 20:13 by Denis Chabrol

Almost one month after the Director of Public Prosecutions ordered that the file on the shooting death of political activist, Courtney Crum-Ewing be reopened, the  key suspect- Regan “Grey Boy” Rodrigues- was arrested Good Friday afternoon.

Guyana Police Force spokesman, Superintendent Jairam Ramlakhan said the murder suspect was arrested at about 4:15 PM at Middle Road, La Penitence.

He said there was no resistance or confrontation during Rodrigues’arrest.

Neither Divisional Commander, Assistant Commissioner, Clifton Hicken nor Crime Chief, Wendell Blanhum accepted repeated calls to their mobile phones.

Ramlakhan said Rodrigues was in custody assisting with investigations.

On March 17, 2017 the Director of Public Prosecutions, Shalimar Hack announced that she had rdered that the file be re-opened.

The murder charge against Regan “Grey Boy” Rodrigues was on September 14, 2016 discharged by City Magistrate Judy Latchman because there was insufficient evidence for him to be trialed by a High Court judge and jury.

The DPP’s Chambers said Thursday that in keeping with Guyana’s Criminal Law Offences Act, the case of the Police vs Regan Rodrigues has bee sent back to Magistrate Latchman “for reopening.”

“The sole purpose of this remit is to take further evidence from police witnesses and to rule on the voluntariness of all oral statements of the accused,” the DPP’s Chambers said in a statement.

The matter will be prosecuted by Special Prosecutor, Attorney-at-Law, Nigel Hughes who had been among the first on the scene at Diamond, East Bank Demerara on March 10, 2015,

Crum-Ewing was gunned down while on a megaphone urging residents to go out and vote for the A Partnership for National Unity+ Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) coalition in the May, 2015 polls.

Rodrigues had won a case of illegal gun possession before he the murder charge against him had been discharged. At that time, police had claimed that ballistic tests on a hand gun found in his possession allegedly proved that it was the same weapon that was used to kill Crum-Ewing.