A pastor and his sister charged with wounding a man were each placed on $100,000 bail on Thursday when they appeared in the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.
The pastor, Andrew Callender, 33, and his sister Michelle Alphonso, 37, both of 27 ‘A’ First Street, McDoom pleaded not guilty to unlawfully and maliciously wounding minibus driver Linden Richards by beating him and fracturing his left arm, left leg and ribs.
According to Richards, he worked a minibus for the duo and owed them some money, which he said he would repay in small sums. He said that on the night of January 14, he was on the road when Callender and his brother Paul approached him and asked for the money.
He said he told them that he could not pay it at that time and they said that he had to speak to Callender’s wife.
He said he went to the house to speak to the woman, but when he got there, he was set upon and beaten severely by both brothers. Richards told the court “the beating I get, I ain’t want nobody get it.” He appeared in court with bandaged arms and legs, leaning on a crutch.
Attorney for Callender and Alphonso, Randolph Kirton said Callender was an upstanding citizen with no previous police confrontations and the allegations levelled against him were untrue. “In fact at the time of the said incident my client was asleep in his bed,” the lawyer said.
The matter was transferred to Court Five for February 29.
