Five days after celebrating the birth of his second son, Marabella welder Roger Modeste was gunned down during a robbery outside his home on Friday night.
Although police said the murder was motivated by robbery, Modeste’s father, Michael Modeste, believes the gunmen came with a deadly intention.
Reports are that Modeste, 38, of St James Street, was liming in the tray of his white Nissan Frontier with his friend Selvon Noel. Around 10.45 pm, two gunmen walked up to them and robbed Modeste of his gold chain, wallet and approximately $7,000 cash that he had withdrawn from the bank to repay his brother.
Noel, 46, of Hardbargain, Williamsville, was robbed of two gold rings, a gold watch, a wallet and a mobile phone. But as the gunmen walked off, one of them turned around and fired several shots at Modeste, hitting him twice in his abdomen.
They then ran off and escaped in a getaway car which was parked a few streets away. Noel was unharmed. Modeste senior said when he looked out and saw his son bleeding, he bundled him into his pick-up and sped to the San Fernando General Hospital. However, when emergency staff at the Accident and Emergency Department put Modeste on a wheelchair, he died.
ASP Rawle Ramdeo led a team of Marabella and Southern Division Task Force officers in a search for the killers, who up to yesterday were not found.
“They should not have shot him. If they came to rob him and they got all his money, they did not have to shoot him. This crime situation is bad. He was a nice person, he did not have any problems with anybody,” Michael said.