Rasbert Turner, Gleaner Writer

A group of four men who went on a robbery spree in Clarendon had their journey cut short by vigilant policemen after a gun battle which left two dead and three illegal firearms seized.

Police subsequently confirmed that a third man was later chopped to death by residents, after he was caught in bushes about 3:30 in the afternoon.

The men allegedly robbed a motorist of his 1991 Toyota Corolla motor car at a pharmacy in May Pen. They then proceeded to the quiet Milk River community where they robbed a bar and shot and injured the owner.

Car identified

The police from Milk River got wind of the incident and summoned the May Pen police. A team responded and spotted the car along the Milk River main road about 10:15 a.m. with the four men aboard. The police signalled them to stop and the gun battle started.

"The police saw the car with the men on board," said Deputy Superintendent in charge of crime for Clarendon, Cleon Marsh. "They were signalled to stop but, instead of stopping, they started to fire at the police. The policemen returned the fire and, after the shooting subsided, two of the men were found in the vehicle, along with three guns."

The guns the police recovered are a 380. automatic pistol with six live rounds, one 38 revolver with five live rounds and a spent shell, and a home-made 9mm pistol.

"We also found that the criminals are quite ingenious in the way they constructed one of the weapons, it was made from bits and pieces of other pistols and had 'bulldog' engraved on it," DSP Marsh said.

The identities of the men had not been ascertained up to press time last night. However, investigators are conducting a thorough probe into the matter, including a search for the other man who escaped in the area.

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Special Investigations has commenced its routine probe into the killings.