One of the two men who were allegedly caught during the early morning robbery at Nedd’s Uplift Bakery at Garnett and Middleton streets last Friday, appeared yesterday in the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.
Kevin Mc Calmon, 33, of 291 North East La Penitence and Sherwin Devonish are jointly charged with robbery under arms. However Devonish who was shot by police while attempting to flee the scene is still hospitalized so he could not make a court appearance yesterday. After being told that he was not required to plead to the indictable charge, Magistrate Hazel Octive-Hamilton remanded Mc Calmon to prison.
It is alleged that on Friday the duo being armed with a gun robbed Parbattie Nedd, the owner of the bakery, of $60,000.
Reports are that Devonish, who is employed at the bakery as a packer and a handyman, turned up for work shortly before six that morning with two men whom he said were seeking employment. Nedd told them that she did not have jobs for them but they could wait outside the business place until her son arrived. Minutes after a customer left the unopened bakery, the two were reportedly let in by Devonish, and they attacked Nedd and her employee before escaping with a box containing cash. One had an ice pick, the other a gun and Devonish was unarmed but reportedly used his hands to choke and assault Nedd.
One of the employees managed to escape and raise an alarm. Nedd’s son who lives at the back of the bakery responded and the men fled with their booty. However Devonish was cornered and shot in a house a short distance away while Mc Calmon was beaten by residents before being handed over to the police.
Devonish is at present a patient at the Georgetown Public Hospital with multiple gunshot wounds to his legs. The third man, who from reports was armed with a gun, escaped.
Attorney-at-law Mishka Puran represented Mc Calmon yesterday. She told the court that her client is completely blind and he is maintained by brothers and sisters whom he lives with. The defence counsel pointed out that her client was never placed on an ID parade following the incident. “Your honour it is almost comical that a blind man can be charged with such an offence,” she noted.
However police prosecutor Shellon Daniels objected to bail and told the court that the accused is partially blind. She said that he was found in the building at the scene of the robbery while his accomplice was shot by police.
The defence counsel in response questioned how her client’s mere presence in the bakery warranted him being charged.
According to Daniels, at the time of the robbery, the shop was not opened for business and Mc Calmon was unable to give a reasonable explanation for his presence there.
The matter has been adjourned to next Tuesday.
