South Oropouche man killed in shooting after his relatives

Trinidad and Tobago: A 21-year-old man was killed in a shooting by unknown assailants in front of his house in the Saint John’s locality of South Oropouche. The crime incident was reported at midnight on Saturday, 01 June, around 12:00 am. The act of murder is associated with a chain of murders related to drugs in which other relatives of the victims were also killed by assailants.

The male victim who was found dead after the South Oropouche shooting attack in the neighbourhood is identified, who is named as Dennis Jugoon. Dennis Jugoon was commonly popular with the name Fats among the people in the locality. The deceased was a resident of Lezama Trace in Saint John’s, South Oropouche, a community along the southwestern coast of Trinidad Island.

It is disclosed through the sources that the victim was standing outside his house at midnight when he was approached by the armed assailants. It is said that attackers arrived at the place and ambushed the victim after spotting him alone. The sudden attack also resulted in a small chase where the victim allegedly attempted to escape and save his life.

At nearly 12:00 am, the sound of gunshots was heard by the residents of the community as the assailants shot the victim, which resulted in his death. The victim was spotted by his relatives and other residents in the neighbourhood, who found him lying injured on the ground with a gunshot wound on his head. The man was covered with his blood, and he lost his life on the spot.

The law enforcement department was reported immediately by the people, and the entire information of the killing of the man by shooting in South Oropouche was shared. The responsible team of police officers made their way to the mentioned spot with the designated medical officer. The dead body of the victim was found in the bushes at the back side of the house.

Subsequently, the dead body was examined, after which the official pronouncement was made by the designated medical officer. The crime scene was blocked by the responding officers to protect the relevant clues. The initial phase of the investigation was started in which one spent shell of a 9 mm bullet was collected from the ground with a cell phone.

The dead body of the victim was assisted to the Forensic Science Centre after removal from the crime site. The assumptions are made that the murder case of Dennis by shooting is related to the chain of murders from last year. In those cases, the brother and cousin of Dennis Jugoon were killed similarly in drug-related matters.

As per the reports, the chain was initiated last year on 24 May 2023, in which a 41-year-old man was shot and killed by a gunman. The incident of the life-taking shooting attack took place in South Oropouche while the victim was sitting in his motor car along Belle Vue Road. The man was named Adesh Ramrattan, who was a cousin of Dennis Jugoon.

The other attack was against the brother and a nephew of Dennis Jugoon, who were also killed in a shooting attack near a track along Lezama Trace, South Oropouche. The criminal act was observed on 01 June 2023, in which a 39-year-old man named Gary Jugoon was shot along with 19-year-old Romel Jugoon. It is said that after this attack, Dennis went to Tobago for a few months with his girlfriend, but he fell sick and returned home.

As the investigation is ongoing by the law enforcement unit, it is found that the victim was also previously kidnapped by Venezuelan criminals last year with three others. The victim was kidnapped while fishing the Gulf of Paria off Mosquito Creek. However, he was released soon after a month. The police department is collecting clues related to the incident and tracing the culprits involved in the murder to arrest them.