A man who spent 12 years in prison for a homicide and was a suspect in two killings since his release about two years ago was shot and killed by police in Redemption Sharpes, Wednesday night.
Police shot and killed Romano Pompey aka No Mercy, 35, around 8:50 p.m., about three hours after he allegedly shot and killed Zenroy Lee aka Chucky, a 31-year-old vendor and national footballer of Murray’s Village.
In a press statement on Thursday, the Police Public Relations and Complaint Department said Pompey had pointed a firearm at officers when they shot him and that they recovered a pistol and 13 rounds of ammunition from him.
They said that around 8:50 p.m., officers were conducting routine patrol in the area when they received “credible intelligence regarding the whereabouts of a suspect linked to a previous violent crime”.
The release said the suspect was identified as Pompey, of Redemption Sharpes, who police said is also known as “Merciless”.
The statement said Pompey was “wanted in connection to a shooting incident that occurred earlier that day.
“Upon encountering the police, Mr. Pompey pointed a firearm at the police, posing an immediate threat to the officers.”
Police said that as a result, he was “fatally wounded at the scene.
“A Glock 23 pistol and thirteen rounds of ammunition were recovered from the deceased. No police officers were injured during the encounter,” police said.
They said the incident will be investigated by “the appropriate authorities to ensure all actions taken were in accordance with law enforcement standards.
“The Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force is committed to transparency and will continue to provide updates as further details from the ongoing investigation become available.
“The RSVGPF extends its deepest condolences to all those who are affected by this incident.”
Suspect killed as residents clean up murder scene
Murray’s Village residents were busy scrubbing Lee’s blood from the roadway where he was killed when a barrage of gunfire ran out in Redemption Sharpes, a neighbouring community.
“They get him!” one of the residents said. “Police get him!” another exclaimed.
Shortly after, iWitness News received information that police had shot and killed Pompey in Trigger Ridge, Redemption Sharpes.
The source had initially described the gunfire in Redemption Sharpes as “a shoot-out”, an apparent reference to the rapid gunfire.
iWitness News was reliably informed that Pompey and Lee had gotten into an argument that became physical in Murray’s Village.
Lee is said to have gotten the better of Pompey, who left the scene and reportedly returned with a firearm and shot Lee several times, including multiple times in the head, killing him at the scene.
Outside the police cordon in Murray’s Village, people spoke in hushed voices that Pompey should turn himself in to the police if he wanted to avoid acts of reprisal.
They spoke glowingly of Lee, describing him as a cool individual and condemning the barbaric manner in which his life was ended.
In their press statement on Thursday, police described Lee’s death as a homicide, saying that he was killed around 5:40 p.m.
“Preliminary reports indicate that while Mr. Lee was in the company of another individual, a gunman arrived on the scene and shot Mr. Lee,” police said.
They said that specialised crime scene personnel were then deployed to process the scene and collect vital evidence.
Among the officers who responded to the shooting was acting Assistant Commissioner of Police with responsibility for crime-fighting, Trevor “Buju” Bailey.
Bailey as well as head of the Criminal Investigations Department, Superintendent of Police Clauston Francis responded to the shooting in Redemption Sharpes.
Killed ‘like a dog’
Outside the police cordon in Redemption Sharpes, Wednesday night, residents were mum about the shooting.
One female, said to be one of Pompey’s relatives, told iWitness News to ask “de feds” — a reference to the police — about what had happened.
Another female said that the officers had killed Pompey “like a dog”.
Thursday morning offered iWitness News a better view of the area where Pompey died.
He is said to have fallen in the back room of an abandoned construction site for a house. However, it was not clear where he was shot.
If he was shot inside the building, the location brings into question claims by some people at the scene that officers had reloaded their weapons while shooting at Pompey.
A group of people who was at the scene Thursday morning included people who were outside the police cordon Wednesday night.
They told iWitness News that they were all Pompey’s relatives but declined to comment about his death.
A resident of Murray’s Village, who went to inquire on behalf of iWitness News Thursday morning, said that Lee’s family had said that they were not in the frame of mind to speak to the media.
History of violence
In November 2012, High Court judge Justice Frederick Bruce-Lyle departed from the sentencing guidelines on manslaughter and sentenced Pompey and fellow Redemption Sharpes resident, Jaybarry Charles to 20 years in prison.
The duo was sentenced, having pleaded guilty, to multiple charges in relation to the June 18, 2010 shooting death of fellow villager, Esron Ells aka Banks, who was gunned down near NBC Radio in Richmond Hill around 10 p.m.
Pompey was initially charged with murder in connection with Ells’ death but pleaded guilty to manslaughter, a lesser charge.
Ell’ was shot in the cheek following an altercation with two men near the Postal Corporation and died on the way to hospital.
Pompey told the social worker who prepared the pre-sentencing report that he did not intend to kill Ells as they were once friends.
Then, in October 2013, the Court of Appeal reduced Pompey’s sentence to 18 years and Charles to 10.
In October 2021, Pompey escaped from Her Majesty’s Prison (as it then was) before his family turned him in to the authorities that same night.
Searchlight reported at the time that Pompey had been taken to the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital and on his return to the prisons, he scaled the fence of the courthouse yard and escaped.
Pompey was released from prison in July 2022, having served 12 years.
iWitness News was reliably informed that Pomoey had been identified as the main suspect in the killing of 33-year-old Brian Samuel aka Guttie.
Samuel died at the scene after being shot multiple times in the head around 7:20 a.m as he was walking in Redemption Sharpes on May 25, 2023.
It’s difficult to accept the police version but the victim lived a life of a criminal. You live by the sword you die by the sword gunslinger. Not even your own family could have roped you in. One less criminal that society has to deal with. My only hope is that you don’t left kids behind ro be fatherless.
Pomey lived a life of crime and it is clear that he was not a candidate for rehabilitation. He preyed on society , he was a gun-tooteer. He had no regard for the lives of others and as an individual he he broke the moral code of a peaceful citizen and a scrooge by his own choice. His chickens have certainly come home to roost and is sitting in the mortuary. Lee will welcome him.
It would appear that Pompey lived a life of crime. He lived byvthe sword and died by the sword. He was a gunslinger by his own right. His family could not make a difference in his life. This begs the question as to where were his father and mother in all this? Where were his relatives? You were a menace to a peaceful society. You will be missed by family but not the broader society. Go In peace Gunslinger.
St Vincent along with St Kitts are considered to be among the most violent countries in the world. The question is how did we get there? Did it happened overnight,? Certainly, not the metrics point to a phenomeon of rising crimes over the for which the government ignored. It is a truism that the government is celebrating five in a row but not forty homicides in a row.
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Lat year iWitness News carried an article in which it was alleged that an officer loaned his firearm in an intimidation case. In another article from the same source in which it was alleged that a Junior constable was indicted in a rape case. These kinds of news do nothing good to the image of the RSPF. The problem with stems from the fact that proper screening of police recruits is nort a priority. It is based on who you know.
Good riddance.
It is ironic how some people are so easily blinded by their own personal bitterness and biasness towards others and towards critical situations at hand. The family members of the criminal bluntly ignored the fact of what must have been a gruesome scene, in particular the condition of Lee’s head which received multiple gunshots. I could imagine how unbearable a scene it was to look at. Yet, relatives of the criminal totally ignored Lee’s demise and saw it fit to elaborate and focus only on the death of the criminal. SMDH!!