By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

PATRONS of Whatfall.com yesterday claimed that “pandemonium” erupted at a party the web shop hosted after police, armed with large guns, shut the event down.

The company put on a block party at its web shop at the juncture of Baillou Hill Road and Independence Drive on Wednesday night. They were expected to raffle a winning ticket for a brand new, mortgage free home.

However, before the house could be won, Randy Rolle who attended the event said scores of police officers ordered people to leave the premises.

“The place was overrun by police,” Mr Rolle said, “Police officers with machine guns were all around. They could have caused a major uproar. They could have been doing other things with their energy and resources, but instead they were out there stopping private citizens from doing what they want.

“People were terrified at the sight of all those guns and police.”

While the police admitted to shutting down the event, Superintendent Stephen Dean said there was a good reason for the officers’ actions.

“You can’t just go into a residential area and make all the noise you want,” Mr Dean said, “How did they figure they could just be out there with these big loud speakers disturbing citizens who want to rest?”

Noise was not the only concern raised of the event, as Cedric Moss, pastor of Kingdom Life Church, complained to Police Commissioner Ellison Greenslade in a letter that web-shop operators should be prosecuted for “offering sweepstakes to win cars, houses, cash and other prizes.”

Mr Moss said the letter had fallen on deaf ears, which prompted a move to make the information public. He commended the Commissioner for the work he has already done.

”I do not hold Commissioner Greenslade personally accountable for the inaction of the police against illegal gambling and illegal sweepstakes; it is my belief that he is being constrained from doing his job,” Mr Moss said.

“Ultimately, Prime Minister Christie and his government are responsible for this scandalous state of affairs where mockery is being made of the Lotteries and Gaming Act, as were former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham and his government, who allowed illegal web shops to spread like wildfire under their watch.”

Whatfall.com CEO Deyvon Jones said he understood why authorities ended the event, despite having the needed permits in hand.

“The crowd,” he said, “was a lot more than we expected and the police were asking people to move their cars, but they weren’t cooperating. So the police asked us to end the event. But it was peaceful.”

As for the house that the web-shop is giving away, Mr Jones said Whatfall.com patrons can show up at Arawak Cay tonight for the big give away. He said 5,000 to 6,000 people are expected to attend.