The highlight of this week’s Crime Watch programme was host Ian Alleyne’s coverage of a breaking story of the brazen murder of businessman Cyrus Fulchan and his friend Francis “Ricky” Charles outside Fulchan’s Valencia business.
Fulchan was found slumped behind the steering wheel of his silver Nissan Tiida motorcar, while Charles was found a short distance away.
Alleyne, who visited the scene and spoke with relatives, learnt that Fulchan had just returned after appearing before a Sangre Grande magistrate on a charge of marijuana possession. Alleyne was told that when Fulchan walked out of the court he was pointed out by a man who threatened him and laughed at him.
Alleyne also revealed that Fulchan was one of his Crime Watch guests in March, where he said he and his wife, Felicia, were allegedly robbed of $21,000. The couple was subsequently charged with possession of marijuana and that case was ongoing in the magistrates’ court.
During Thursday’s show, Alleyne disclosed that he received information from the police that they believed Fulchan’s murder was linked to a triple murder which occurred in Valencia on December 12, 2014. In that incident, cousins Keron Ruiz, 29; Eric “Rumple” Ruiz, 33; and Tenika Bartholomew, 23, were gunned down as a result of a robbery gone sour.
Alleyne also showed photographs which were allegedly taken in prison showing inmates posing with large sums of money, cell phones, cooked food believed to have been taken into the prison from outside and bottles of premium alcohol, including Hennessy, Johnny Walker scotch whiskey and Moet.
On Wednesday, mother of three Angie Renales also visited the set to ask Alleyne to use his good offices to gain protection for her from a man she has known for the past 12 years.
Renales, 34, told Alleyne that at about 11.30 pm on Tuesday she heard bushes rustling outside her Guaico home. She said when she opened the door to look outside the man ran towards her and began choking her. The man then placed a gun to her head and threatened to kill her. Renales said the man subsequently ran away but fired three shots into the air before doing so. Alleyne was told that the man, who is 35 and who has two addresses at La Seiva, Maraval, and Laventille, also threatened to kill her three children, her mother and brother.
Renales said she had been constantly abused by the man but became fed up and decided to stand up to him, hence the reason he was now threatening to kill her. She also claimed her nine-year-old daughter was badly beaten by the man. She said she had made several reports to the Maraval and Sangre Grande Police Stations about the abuse and threats, adding she felt the police did not care about protecting her family.
Minutes after she appeared on the Crime Watch programme, Renales received a phone call from the man, who again threatened her and told her that he had seen her on the show with Alleyne. Alleyne, after speaking with Renales, urged the relevant authorities to take Renales’ situation seriously and put her in a safe house before it was too late.
Unsolved mystery
In an unrelated incident, grieving father Rampersad Debi, whose son Adesh was killed on April 5, 2015, appeared on the show begging for Alleyne’s assistance in the investigation into his son’s death.
Debi, a gardener from Ecclesville, was at his home when gunmen stormed in and fatally shot him in the head.
Breakthrough story
A woman who appeared on CrimeWatch in connection with a robbery at a bar in San Fernando attempted to change her identity by dying her hair a different colour and outfitting herself with a pair of glasses.
However, Alleyne, who was notified by officers of the Chaguanas Police Station that she was wanted in connection with another incident of similar nature—this time at an eatery in Chaguanas—received information that she was at a relative’s house at Lime Head Road, Chase Village, Chaguanas. Alleyne made his way down to the house where he showed footage of police taking the young woman into custody.
A woman who was accused for stealing a Smartphone at Port-of-Spain restaurant also returned the S5 phone to Alleyne after he highlighted the incident on the show and carried out an interview with the phone’s owner. Police arrested the woman on Wednesday while she was in Alleyne’s office. She is now assisting police in their investigations.