An eyewitness’ account of the car Princes Town resident Akiel Thomas was last seen in before he was murdered has led to the arrest of three men. According to police, the suspects, aged between 20 and 22, all of Marac, Moruga, were expected to be questioned by homicide detectives last night about their role in Thomas’ death.
Thomas, 28, of Lengua Road, Indian Walk, died at the Intensive Care Unit of the San Fernando General Hospital on Monday after being shot twice in the head on Sunday night Police reports state that on Sunday, a passerby walking along the Penal Rock Road, Moruga, saw Thomas lying on the roadside and called the police.
When ag Cpl Teeluck and PC Bissoon found Thomas, he was lying on his stomach with what they initially thought was a puncture wound to the left side of his head. He was taken to the Princes Town District Health Facility and later transferred to the San Fernando hospital.
Thomas’ mother Jennifer Khan told the Guardian that he was at home watching cricket with his family on Sunday afternoon when he got a phone call stating that someone was coming to pick him up. She said he did not tell anyone where he was going nor did anyone see who picked him up.
Police also believe Thomas’ death was the third reprisal killing for the 2012 New Year’s Day murder of fellow villager Marcus Cooper. The first revenge killing took place on January 6, 2012, when Renwick “Menace” Bailey, of El Dorado, Tunapuna, was gunned down at J’s Barber Saloon, Indian Walk. On July 6, 18-year-old Tylon Dyer was shot dead at his Moruga Road home.
Dyer was the brother of one of the three men charged with Cooper’s murder. Victor Marcano, Antrez Khan and Kendall Khan were charged for Cooper’s murder. However, the case was dismissed in the Princes Town Magistrates Court last month. Thomas is the cousin of the Khan brothers. Police suspect that there are other men involved in the murders and said inquiries were continuing.