Lindo Creek COI: Entry of eyewitness statement into station diary cannot be corroborated

On Monday, Retired Colonel Fitzroy Ward told the ongoing Lindo Creek Commission of Inquiry that the Joint Services knew of the murders several days before the burnt remains of the miners were found.

Lindo Creek COI: Entry of eyewitness statement into station diary cannot be corroborated
Claims of a caution statement which allegedly revealed that eight miners had been killed at Lindo Creek in June 2008, days before the bodies were discovered, could not be corroborated by entries made into the station diary and occurence book at the Ituni Police Station for the same period.

On Monday, Retired Colonel Fitzroy Ward told the ongoing Lindo Creek Commission of Inquiry that the Joint Services knew of the murders several days before the burnt remains of the miners were found.

He recalled that on June 16th, 2008, when Police apprehended then teenager Dwayne Williams, he related details of the murders that were committed at Lindo Creek and allegedly told investigators that the Rondell “Fine Man” Rawlins gang was responsible.

Williams was also a member of the gang at the time.

But when Police Detective, Deputy Superintendent, Gary McAllister took the stand today, he testified that he could not provide evidence to support the claims.

McAllister said in 2008, he was tasked with making checks at Police stations in the Division for information relative to the murder.

The retired GDF Colonel had claimed that the statement was given at the Ituni station but McAllister claimed that no record was found there or at the Wisroc, McKenzie and Wismar police stations to substantiate that statement.

He said a crime book at the Kwakwani Police Station was found in which two entries of the murders were made.

There was no mention of the caution statement by Dwayne William’s, only that he was arrested and then brought to Georgetown.

Ward insisted on Monday that a statement was taken from Williams at the time of his arrest.

Locating that statement posed a challenge on Tuesday as it could not be found in the records of several nearby stations.

The attorneys for the Guyana Defence Force argued that entries in the station diaries and occurence book were not sequential.

The GDF Counsel Roysdale Forde pointed out that several sub stations in the division were not checked.

The Commission’s Counsel had objected to this line of questioning, saying the witness was being placed in a difficult situation but after a brief exchange, the GDF’s Attorney was allowed to proceed with the questions.

He continued to point out that for months, entries were either not made into the books or it was not made on the very dates that the incidents occurred.

Ward claimed that Williams had given details of the murder committed by the gang.

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