Lance John attacked, robbed at Arnos Vale Sports Complex

Former St Vincent and the Grenadines and Windward Islands opening batsman Lance John says he is thankful for being alive today, after falling victim to a daylight robbery last Friday that left him with head injuries after being beaten unconscious.{{more}}

John, who has been the facility manager for the National Sports Council for the past 10 months, told SEARCHLIGHT that he was attacked by two masked men in his office, located on the third floor of the Media Centre at the Arnos Vale Playing Field Complex.

John received injuries to his forehead, near his right eye, which required 12 stitches, one to the back of his head and another to the left side that also required four stitches.

“I’m lucky to still be alive and let’s thank God. It could have been worse,” the 56-year-old told SEARCHLIGHT yesterday.

He said the incident took place around 9:55 a.m.

“A worker had just left my office before the incident…

“After the worker left, about 45 minutes after, someone knocked on my office door and I answered and two persons came in with mask and jumped on me. They tied me down under my desk with the telephone lines (wires) and took what I have in my pocket,” the Barrouallie resident explained.

According to John, the masked robbers took off with his wallet containing a sum of $400, credit and debit cards, two gold chains, gold bangles and rings.

John said the culprits also took his licensed firearm.

“They left after and said they would shoot me, because I had my gun and they took it, but they couldn’t shoot because I think the safety catch was bent.

“When I thought they had left, I untied myself and ran out of the office and started crying for help.

“Maybe they (robbers) didn’t make an escape yet because people were on the park by then. And when they heard me crying for help, they came back up with stones and started beating me in my head,” he further explained.

He further revealed that over $3,000 was also taken from his vehicle.

“That money belonged to the lottery, because I also run a lottery booth. So that money was in a bag, in the vehicle.

“They also drove away with the vehicle,” he added.

The vehicle, a white Toyota Noah, P6291 was recovered by police in the Belmont area in good condition, according to John.

Meanwhile, Cecil Charles, manager of the National Sports Council, when visited by SEARCHLIGHT described the incident as unfortunate.

He further noted that members of staff were still “disturbed” over what had transpired.

“Certainly what has transpired has been very heart-wrenching for all of us. It has affected a number of us as a staff. Because here it is that you turn up for work on a daily basis, you try to give of your best and when things like that happen, it can definitely affect the entire staff.

“So, we had to do a lot of work on the ground and internally to ensure that people are comfortable and they can get back to production levels without being overly concerned or bothered,” Charles said.

Charles revealed that John will be away from work on one month’s sick leave and during the time he will be “greatly missed”.

“His absence will affect us greatly, because he is a very hard worker. He is one of the persons who gets things done and you can rely on him.

“So, the time of his absence will really affect the council, but we will make do with what we have and fit in and see how best we can function until he resumes duty. We hope during the period he is away that he will be well-rested and that nothing more serious happens, so that when he returns he will be in tip-top shape to get things done,” Charles added.

John, a left-handed batsman, played for the Windward Islands cricket team from 1981 to 1992.

He played 56 matches, scoring 3,012 runs, at an average of 30.42.

His highest score was 137 runs.

Police are carrying out investigations into the matter.