Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson on Friday granted $50,000 bail to a man accused of stealing $159,000 from another man by slipping it out of his pocket.
Joseph Peters, 21, of Plaisance, East Coast Demerara pleaded not guilty to a charge of larceny from the person when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.
Kenton Maxwell told the court that on Monday last, around 9 pm, he and two friends were sitting in a parked bus on King Street when Peters approached the bus and asked him, “Yuh doing business?” Maxwell said that as he was inquiring from Peters what he meant, “he started touching meh hands.” He said he then chucked Peters off but the man opened the bus door and slipped his hand into his pocket. Maxwell said, “I chuck he again and he run away” and that it was only then he realised that Peters had escaped with money he had in the same pocket. He said he immediately gave chase but another man attacked him with an ice pick preventing him from going further. Maxwell said he then made a report at a police station.
In his defence Peters said that on the day in question he was indeed on King Street “doing business” and he and some other “businessmen” had approached the bus that Maxwell and three others were seated in. He said that the “businessmen” attended to the other men while he approached Maxwell and asked him if he was doing business but he said he was not. He said Maxwell then chucked him from the vehicle and he walked away.
Peters said he later observed a girl approaching the bus and soon after Maxwell began running towards him “shouting that he want he money.” He said he ran off but later the police arrested him and at the station he was told that he had stolen the money from Maxwell.
When the magistrate asked Peters what his profession was he said, “I does do business on King Street corner.” He was subsequently granted bail and the case transferred to Court Five for April 30.
