Suspect in two recent murders shot and killed at Edinboro

A man who Edinboro residents suspect was responsible for at least two of the recent murders in that West Kingstown community was himself shot and killed last weekend.

On Saturday, December 23, Symcy “Bart” Williams was attacked by at least two gunmen who shot and killed him in broad daylight.

The man who became the 54th homicide victim here this year was walking in his home community of Edinboro with a female companion when he was approached by two gunmen who shot him numerous times about the body, including three times in his face.

His female companion, who was also shot, was taken to the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital (MCMH) where she was treated and discharged.

Williams is no stranger to violence as five years ago, in July 2018, he and four other men were jailed following the July 28, 2013 robbery of the Russell’s Cineplex and the murder of New Montrose resident Rodney Grant who was in the area when the robbers were making their escape.

The facts in the case, are that on July 28, 2013, in Stoney Ground, Cleroy Pinder, Zimroy Maurice Guy, Kamara George, Chad Jacobs and Williams robbed the cinema.

While escaping along the Stoney Ground public road with their masks off, Pinder and Williams happened upon Grant. Pinder is said to have pointed the gun at Grant, shooting once. Grant was shot in the face, and subsequently died.

Williams pleaded guilty, was sentenced, and became the key witness in Prosecutor Karim Nelson’s case, giving evidence as an accomplice to the robbery which netted $2949 to be shared among five men; $589.80 per person, if shared equally.

All of the other men involved were given hefty sentences and are still in prison, but the 10-year prison sentence handed down to Williams was reduced by two years at the Court of Appeal.

Residents of Edinboro said that on release, Williams became embroiled in several disputes with relatives and friends of the incarcerated men.

Earlier this month, Alando Emron Guy alias Murphy,35, an Edinboro resident who plied his trade as a farmer and was a part time port worker, was shot on Saturday, December 2 while making his way to his Edinboro home at about 7:20 a.m.

Guy was accosted by a masked man who shot him several times. As the gunman fled the scene, he encountered another Edinboro resident Deejay Howard, 29, and shot him also. Howard survived.

At the time of Guy’s murder, Edinboro residents told SEARCHLIGHT they suspected that Williams was the gunman.

Alando was the brother of one of the jailed men, Zimroy Maurice Guy also known as “Stumpy”. Stumpy is serving a 30-year sentence for his part in the robbery of the Russell’s Cineplex.

Williams was detained for 48 hours after the shooting but was released without charge.

The streets also placed him at the scene of another recent murder, that of Dwayne “Dulis” Banfield, 34, who died in hospital after being shot in the Battery Hill area of Edinboro on Thursday December 21, at around 10.30 a.m.

Another man, Allan Lewis, 29, was also shot but survived.

Police are investigating these murders.