Police were tipped-off about get-away car driver in ‘Paper Shorts’ murder
Police were tipped-off about get-away car driver in ‘Paper Shorts’ murder
– reportedly never brought suspect in for questioning
By Shervin Belgrave
Kaieteur News – More allegations have been brought to Kaieteur News’ attention that detectives investigating the March, 2021 murder of Ricardo Fagundes better known as “Paper Shorts” were tipped-off by an informant about the driver of the get-away car used in the hit but they had never moved to arrest the suspect for questioning.
Murdered in front of Palm Court, Ricardo Fagundes popularly known as “Paper Shorts”
The suspected get-away driver is no stranger to law and although the police allegedly did not pursue leads to detain him, he landed in hot-water months after Fugundes was killed for illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition. He was charged and remanded to prison for the offence.
It is unclear if the detectives had questioned him about his alleged involvement in death of Ricardo Fagundes. However, according to reports received by this newspaper, police had received details that the suspect could be the one behind the wheels of a white heavily-tinted Toyota Fielder Wagon used in the hit on Fagundes.
Despite having an identity of the suspect, no instructions were given for him to be arrested nor did police attempt to detain him for questioning or seek leads about his whereabouts. The alleged get-away driver was the second suspect to be identified in the killing of Fagundes. The first to be identified was an individual by the name of “Shop Man”, a security guard working with a business establishment located in central Georgetown.
“Shop Man” was recently publicly identified as Mark Richmond of Mohamed’s Enterprise located on Lombard Street. The business place confirmed that he is part of its security team but not in charge of its security operations.
This development came after a detective, Sergeant; Dion Bascom publicly accused his superiors and named one of them of collecting a bribe to cover-up the investigation. Bascom was one of the detectives working on the Fagundes murder case but he was later removed from the investigation and transferred to another location after reports had surfaced in the media that the suspect had threatened him.
During his Facebook live he implicated Azruddin Mohamed, a prominent business linked to Mohamed’s Enterprise in the murder and the alleged cover-up of the investigation. Mr Mohamed has since dnied the allegations. The detective claimed that with the use of technology, investigators were able to place Richmond at the crime scene on the night of the murder and cell phone records showed that he was in contact with Mohamed.
As it relates to the ongoing investigation into the murder of Fagundes police had publicly stated that they were able to trace the car used in the hit from North Road towards Main Street, Georgetown moments before he was killed.
The car parked at Main Street and two gunmen waited inside for their target to step outside of Palm Court and when he did, CCTV cameras captured them emerging from the vehicle and riddling Fagundes will more than 20 bullets.
They then went back into the car and it sped in a southerly direction heading towards the East Bank Demerara. A car was later that evening found burnt out along Linden/Soesdyke Highway and police suspected that it was used to carry out Fagundes’ murder.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters at Eve Leary.
