Two men accused of robbing another with an ice pick were yesterday both remanded to prison when they appeared before Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.
It is alleged that on July 13 at Georgetown, Raoul Bharrat, 32, a gold miner of North Sophia Squatting Area and 30-year-old Trevor Belle, a minibus driver of 1264 Fourteen Field, ‘B’ Field Sophia were armed with an ice pick when they robbed Lindon Harris of a car and other items valued $1,552,000.
The two men pleaded not guilty to the charge of robbery under arms when it was read to them by the Acting Chief Magistrate.
Belle told the court that he knew nothing about the charges laid against him. According to him, he was hired by three persons to take the car in question to the Corentyne. Once there, he said he collected the money he had charged the persons who had hired him and headed back to the city via a minibus.
Bharrat, too, denied knowing anything about the charge. According to him the police had mistaken him for the real perpetrator.
The virtual complainant (VC) who is a taxi driver said that Bharrat had hired him to be taken to his North Sophia home. On the journey, the VC told the court, the defendant told him to stop the car and then stabbed him with an ice pick before throwing him into a trench near the East Coast Embankment in the vicinity of the University of Guyana Road.
Police Prosecutor Denise Griffith objected to bail on the grounds that the offence is a prevalent and serious one. Griffith argued that the VC could have lost his life in the process. She said also that Belle was not hired by anyone to take the car to the Corentyne, but rather took it of his own volition to relatives who reside there.
The duo was later refused bail. The matter was transferred to Court Five for July 27 for statements.
