Roberts acted strangely whenever a vehicle passed – Witness

From all indications, Recardo Roberts knew he was a wanted man.

An eyewitness to the young man’s shooting death said that the 28-year-old acted in a strange manner, just moments before he was gunned down by masked assailants at Kingstown Park, last Thursday night.{{more}}

Roberts, also known as “Cardo” and “Smokey”, was standing at the side of the Kingstown Park road, when a tinted car pulled up next to him. Three men exited the vehicle, pumped multiple gun shots into Roberts’ body, then re-entered the vehicle, and calmly drove away.

The eye-witness told SEARCHLIGHT that he was sitting at the side of the road talking to a woman, when Roberts came and began speaking with them.

“From the time he come ‘round, I just get a bad vibes,” the individual said.

“And he was moving strange, because every time a vehicle pass up, he would move back [in the shadows] and was looking like if he expecting somebody.”

The individual told SEARCHLIGHT he observed Roberts repeat the action at least twice, but when the vehicle with the shooters approached, Roberts was caught off guard.

According to the individual, a faded brown coloured vehicle with heavy dark tint, made its way up the narrow street and stopped suddenly in front of Roberts and the others, when three masked men jumped out; then the carnage began.

The driver stayed in the vehicle.

“Dem men just jump out and started shooting,” the witness claimed.

“One was standing right behind me, and one was to my left and the next one was more behind me.

“I didn’t even get a chance to move, but the woman run. The shots dem was bussing right across my face. If I did move so, or so, I woulda get hit. I just had to stay right there.

“The hot shells was bouncing off my shoulders and back, I was just brushing them off. I couldn’t do nothing else,” he claimed.

When the shooting ended, the shocked man said that the men coolly got into the car and it slowly pulled away, heading in the direction of Redemption Sharpes.

Other persons who were in the area of the shooting told SEARCHLIGHT that when they heard the explosions, they initially thought they were the sounds of fireworks, but soon realized what had happened when the word quickly spread that Smokey had been killed.

Some residents expressed dismay that the shooting took place at a time when a number of people, including children, were still on the street, and some believe that they may not have seen the last of gun violence in the usually peaceful community.

The father of three children, aged eight, seven and two, Roberts was a well-known music vendor, who plied his trade under the gallery of ACE Hardware Store in Kingstown.

He was also an aspiring musician, who SEARCHLIGHT understands was expected to release a number of songs soon.

Persons in the community said that the deceased has had issues with the law, as well as run-ins with other individuals and groups in the past. It is alleged that Roberts had recently got into an altercation, which resulted in another individual being hospitalized. Police have confirmed to SEARCHLIGHT that more than 25 spent bullet casings were recovered from the scene, and that investigations into the shooting continue.

So far, police say, no one has been questioned in relation to the death, and they have no suspects.