Police have detained Team Mohamed’s security officer Mark Richmond for questioning over the March 2021 murder of Ricardo `Paper Shorts’ Fagundes, with Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed alleging yesterday that the move was politically motivated and that Richmond had remained in custody without being questioned or charged.
Speaking with Kiskadee Watch, Mohamed said Richmond voluntarily turned himself in to investigators on Wednesday morning but, up to last night, had neither been interviewed nor informed of any charge.
“He turned in himself since yesterday morning and no one questioned him or read a charge to him etc. Just to stress the man out,” Mohamed expressed, further alleging that the Guyana Police Force was acting on political instructions in detaining the security officer.
Richmond was named during the early stages of the investigation as one of the suspects in the execution-style killing of Fagundes. However, despite being publicly linked to the case, he was never arrested or charged.
The detention marks the first major development in the high-profile murder investigation in several years.
Fagundes was gunned down on March 21, 2021, moments after leaving Palm Court on Main Street, Georgetown. Gunmen armed with high-powered weapons intercepted his vehicle and opened fire, killing him in what investigators described as a targeted attack.
The murder triggered a lengthy police investigation but, more than five years later, no one has been charged with the killing.
The investigation became the subject of national controversy in 2022 after Detective Sergeant Dion Bascom publicly alleged that senior police officers had obstructed the probe. The Guyana Police Force denied the allegations, and a subsequent review by the Regional Security System (RSS) found no evidence of a police cover-up or corruption in the investigation.
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