Murdered Sophia man had been threatened
Stabroek News
December 1, 2003
The man shot dead in Sophia on Friday had been told three days before that he was marked for death by the `phantoms' and knowledgeable sources say the Atlantic-ville double murder later that night was as a result of a soured drug deal.
Around 8 pm on Friday, 28-year-old Mark King was shot dead during a heavy downpour in South Sophia. Two hours later, taxi driver Jason Chapman, 35, also of Sophia and another man who has now been identified as Junior Gabriel were shot dead when the vehicle they were travelling in was ambushed.
Sources close to King's family yesterday said they believed that he had been killed by members of the mysterious `phantom' gang which has been accused of a large number of killings since last year. According to the sources, King had been threatened about three days before his death by a man purporting to be a "phantom" messenger.
The man had told King he was `marked' by the phantom and [the phantom] would `take him out', the sources said.
King's relatives said the incident occurred during a heavy downpour between 8 pm and 9 pm at the double dwelling he had shared with an older sister in the squatting area. The two gunmen were said to have been dressed in bulletproof vests bearing the insignia of the police. Sources said that when King emerged with his hands in the air he was shot repeatedly.
Police on Saturday retrieved spent shells and a pair of surgical gloves from the scene of the crime. King sold baskets for a living and was also a seaman.
The police are investigating the matter.
Chapman and his passenger were said to have been in a Comfort Zone taxi, HB 1237, when they were am-bushed. Ironically, Chapman lived not very far from King and another taxi driver, Dexter Henry, who was mysteriously murdered several days ago.
There is some uncertainty over who Chapman's passenger was. While the police say his name is Junior Gabriel they are unclear over whether he is indeed the man known as `Bry Bry'. Relatives and acquaintances of the man known as `Bry Bry' have said he was not the man killed along with Chapman in Friday night's attack.
Chapman, who had been attacked and beaten on April 6 this year had apparently not been the target of the carload of gunmen who opened fire on them. Sources say a soured drug deal was believed to have led to the deadly attack.
The triple murder is the latest in a series of attacks that the police have been unable to solve. The killings are being attributed to rival factions - one the so-called `phantoms' and the other a group which had been linked to the attacks that burgeoned after the February 23, 2002 jail-break.
On October 24, men in a white car abducted 23-year-old Andre Ettienna of `C' Field Sophia while he was liming with some friends on Norton Street. His skeletal remains were found on November 25 in the empty lot opposite the Botanical Gardens on Mandela Avenue. On the same day, men who claimed to be police kidnapped another young man, Phillip Sergeant, aged 24, of Lot 6 Joseph Pollydore Street, Lodge, from his home. He subsequently escaped and contacted his family later that night but has not been heard from since.
Taxi-driver Troy Francis Hinds was gunned down in front of the White Castle Fish Shop on November 1 by a lone gunman who was reportedly waiting for him there.
On November 2 heavily armed men claiming to be police shot and killed twenty-five-year-old Shawn Skeete in front of his reputed wife at his `C' Field residence.
The night of November 17 was a bloody one in the Buxton/Friendship area when three villagers were gunned down at separate locations.
The men killed were businessman, Michael Dublin, 56, of 64 Middle Walk Buxton; 24-year-old Mark Cato of 137 Friendship and 40-year-old Trevor Jarvis of somewhere in Buxton. A wanted fugitive who walked away after committing the act killed Dublin outside of his shop at around 10:05. Cato was fatally shot in his house by a gunman who kicked open the front door after the occupants refused to open it. Jarvis' body which bore one gunshot wound was discovered in the kitchen of his sister's home in Buxton.
On November 23 twenty-one-year-old Kwesi Williams of the Buxton railway embankment, was shot and killed at about 11 pm while in the compound of the National Cultural Centre on Home-stretch Avenue.
This was followed by another shooting on the night of November 24 when thirty-eight-year-old Trevor Mansonhing of North Road, Lacytown was gunned down at the corner of Hill and James Streets, Albouystown at about 1:30.
The police have not been able to charge anyone in connection with these cases.