AN off-duty police officer helped thwart an armed robbery, leading to the killing of one bandit and the wounding of his accomplice yesterday, moments after the men robbed the Mt Hope branch of American Stores.
The dead bandit was identified only as "Marcus" up to last evening by police. Officers said he was from Eastern Quarry, Laventille. His accomplice remained in stable condition at the nearby Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex under police guard last evening.
Investigators said the bandits might have escaped had they not decided to rob the service section of the furniture store after robbing the main store.
Their apparent greed gave off-duty officer Sgt Roger Alexander, of the North Eastern Division Task Force, enough time to arrive on the scene to challenge them.
The dramatic incident began shortly before noon. The two bandits, one wearing a red T-shirt the other a white, walked into the American Stores branch minutes before they were scheduled to close. They drew guns and announced a hold-up.
Apart from raiding the store's cash register, from which they got $15,000, the men also robbed two male employees and three female employees of cash, jewelry and cellphones.
They then walked out of the store and entered the service and storage area of the building.
There, however, they were challenged by a middle-aged security officer. One of the bandits pointed a gun to the man's head. They then robbed the guard of a $2,000 gold ring, a cellphone and $70 cash.
"I was reading the papers and I saw the guy and I asked him, 'What is your purpose here?' And by the time I said that, I felt an arm 'round my neck and a gun to my head," the guard, who did not want to be named, told the Express.
After robbing the man, the bandits demanded that he open a gate to let them out. The guard refused.
"They done take my things already," said the feisty man. "I wasn't helping them."
Both bandits then ran out of the compound, heading west along the Eastern Main Road.
Along the way, they reportedly saw Sgt Alexander, who had heard about the robbery via his wireless system and decided to pursue the men on his own.
Sgt Alexander was in an unmarked police carâ€â€ÂÂÂa Nissan Almera.
Police said as the men saw Alexander, they began firing at the car, shattering the windscreen.
Alexander fired back and chased the men through a paved track that leads south to the Priority Bus Route (PBR).
Alexander reportedly told his colleagues he had the men in his sight at least twice, but he did not fire since there were two women standing on side of the PBR, apparently shocked at what they were witnessing.
Police said the women eventually jumped into a drain at the side of the PBR to escape being harmed.
By this time, Alexander was joined by a number of his colleagues from the St Joseph and Tunapuna Police Stations, including PC Halls and Insp Randolph Boyce, as the bandits ran into the residential Mt Lambert community.
There they were pursued through yards by what neighbours described as a "large, menacing" team of officers.
About 15 minutes after the chase started, it ended at Fifth Street, Mt Lambert, following a shootout.
