2 weeks Ago
RELATIVES of 62-year-old Derrick Cooper have positively identified his body, which was found in Morvant on Monday. The missing money lender was identified by the clothing he was wearing. However, police said a DNA test is expected to still be taken as part of the investigatory process.
Cooper was shot and kidnapped by men dressed in police uniforms on October 1. Investigators told the Express that Cooper, who was from Nicholasville, San Juan, went to the Licensing Office in Caroni to transfer a vehicle with another man. Around 3.
15 p.m. that day, he was in a silver Nissan Almera, which was proceeding along the old Southern Main Road in Caroni, when upon reaching the vicinity of the old Caroni Bridge, a white SUV pulled up in front of the vehicle.
The driver of the Almera brought the car to a stop and three men jumped out of the vehicle. Two of the men were dressed in police uniforms and the other in civilian clothing with a cap. The men ordered Cooper out of the vehicle.
Police said Cooper resisted, and during the struggle, he was shot at least three times by one of the gunmen. Cooper was then placed in the vehicle, which then drove off. The police were notified, and a team of officers led by Cpl Grant responded.
Crime scene investigators recovered several spent shells, including rounds that had the word 'police' embossed on them. While police do not have an official motive for Cooper's kidnapping, based on initial information it is suspected that there was a connection to a man who had recently been freed of a murder charge. Cpl Grant is continuing enquiries.
On Monday morning, officers at the Morvant Police Station received information that Cooper's body was observed some 60 feet down a precipice along Geranium Extension. A team of officers from the North Eastern Division as well as the Homicide Bureau, led by ASP Victor, Sgt Ramlogan, and PC Francis, among others, responded. -AB.
