By STACY MOORE Monday, March 18 2013

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Lester Richards...killed over cellphone....

AN argument over a Blackberry cellphone resulted in a 16-year-old schoolboy being stabbed to death near his home in Claxton Bay yesterday evening.

Form three student of the Gasparillo Secondary School, Lester Richards was stabbed once to the chest by his attacker who remains at large. Richards was pronounced dead on arrival at the Couva Health Facility.

According to police reports, the incident occurred about 1pm yesterday at Diamond Village, Claxton Bay. Reports said a heated argument started between the teenager and a man said to be in his twenties. Lester was stabbed to the chest with a knife. The pupil was the eldest of four siblings.

Speaking to Newsday at the family home along Valley Road yesterday, Lester’s father Ricky Richards said he could not believe his son was dead. “...over a cell phone. My son was killed for, no man it should not have reached that far,” a distraught Richards said.

Richards said on Sunday night his son had placed his Blackberry cellphone in a relative’s van and the phone was stolen.“He was complaining to me that a boy in the area stole the phone from the van. And he (Lester ) said he knew who the boy was. This is how everything started and it just escalated.” Richards said.

The emotional father said he was told by villagers that his son and another friend were searching the area for the ‘boy who stole his phone.’ “I met up with them while they were searching and I spoke to my son. I said ‘Lester leave that alone’. I knew he worked hard to save money to buy that phone, but I kept warning him to leave that alone. I even said to him that I would purchase a new phone for him,” the father related.

It was while at work in Point Lisas, Richards said he received a call that his son was stabbed. “When I got the news I could not believe it, knowing that I had spoken to him about that whole cellphone issue. And they told me it had some fight and Lester was stabbed,”Richards said.

the father said when he saw his son’s motionless body at the Couva Health Facility, “It took me a while to come to reality that he was dead. He was just on the bed not moving and then I realised he was dead. I can’t believe it. He only turned 16 last month. He had his whole life ahead of him.” Richards said.

Richards said his son was not involved in “any bad company.” “He was a quiet boy and he was performing well in school too. He was telling me he had exams tomorrow (today). This just should not have reached so far,” he said.

Lester’s mother Lezianne Lee still in a state of shock said she had already prepared his uniform for school. Lee said yesterday morning she was watching Lester play with his other siblings at home. “I got the news that my son was stabbed when I was leaving church,”the tearful mother said.