Three bandits went to commit a robbery at a Gasparillo restaurant on Saturday night, but only two came out alive after one of them was shot dead by a security guard. The surviving suspects were eventually held in Princes Town but up to yesterday police were yet to identify the other man, who is believed to be in his 20s. Police said the bandits, armed with two cutlasses and a gun, walked into the Chinese Phoenix Restaurant and Bar along Bonne Aventure Road and began robbing patrons.
The guard, who was at the back of the building at the time, was alerted by staff. When he tried to get the bandits to leave, they threatened him. The guard then reportedly drew his gun and fired three shots behind the bandits. One of the men was hit on the back and his accomplices picked him up and dragged him to the car park. But they eventually left him outside and ran off. Gasparillo police were called in but the suspect died before an ambulance arrived.
The restaurant, which usually opens on Sundays, remained closed. while staff cleaned up yesterday. One worker said the boss was not there and she could not speak. A resident told the T&T Guardian that his daughter sent him a text message around 8.30 pm telling him not to come home because a robbery was in progress. He said when he reached home around 10 pm the man’s body was still lying in front of the restaurant.
Gasparillo police and Southern Homicide Bureau, led by Sr Supt Cecil Santana and Supt Zamsheed Mohammed, were on the scene. The man was reported to be an Afro-Trinidadian with a dark complexion and low haircut. In an unrelated incident, the son of a Central Division superintendent is expected to appear before a Chaguanas magistrate today for assaulting a policeman and possession of a knife.
According to reports, police were on patrol in Chase Village around midnight Saturday when they passed the man walking along the road and he began acting strangely. When they stopped him he put up a fight, forcing the police to subdue him. A knife was also found in his pocket. Police said yesterday the boy’s father is currently on suspension.