Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson yesterday granted bail to a mechanic, who allegedly conspired with others to steal a woman’s car, and to a woman who allegedly bought the said car and uttered a forged certificate of registration for it to a police corporal.
Bazette Mingo, a 40-year-old father of seven of West Ruimveldt pleaded not guilty to the charge of conspiracy to commit a felony, while Karen Harris, a 42-year-old mother of five of South Ruimveldt Gardens, pleaded not guilty to the charge of uttering a forged document.
The duo appeared at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.
Mingo denied that between June 18 and 19, at Hague, West Coast Demerara he conspired with others to steal an AT Toyota Carina car, PKK 7151, valued $2.4M, the property of Surajdai Bipta.
Harris denied that on September 25, at Kitty, with intent to deceive, she uttered to Police Corporal Alexis Webster a certification of registration for a motor vehicle with licence plate number PLL 277 in favour of herself, knowing same to be forged.
Mingo’s lawyer told the court that someone else had stolen the car and had taken it to Mingo’s workshop for repairs to be done on the bumper.
The lawyer stated that several days later two men went to Mingo’s workshop and offered to buy the car but subsequently decided not to.
The lawyer said the person who had taken the car to the workshop returned when the repairs were completed and took the car away.
He said that his client only lately found out that the car had been stolen.
The lawyer then applied for reasonable bail for his client.
Prosecutor Krishnadat Ramanah stated that his facts differed from what the defence related.
He said that on June 18, Bipta had parked her car, PKK 7151, at her Hague home and gone to bed. The next morning she discovered the car missing and made a report to the police station. On September 25, the prosecutor said, a man who owns a car with licence plate number PLL 277 observed a man driving another car with the same licence plate.
He immediately made a report to the police station and the driver of the other car was arrested; investigations later revealed that the registration number was forged and that the car was Bipta’s. The prosecutor added that other charges are likely to be brought against Harris and that the vehicle is currently lodged at the Leonora Police Station.
Meanwhile, Harris’ lawyer Adrian Thompson stated that his client is innocent of the offence.
He said it was not Harris but her son who was driving the car on September 25. He said that when the son was arrested, Harris gave the police corporal what she thought were the real documents for the car.
He explained that his client had purchased the car from someone several months ago and did not know that the documents had been forged and the car was stolen.
He said his client would not have given the police the documents if she knew they had been forged.
The lawyer then applied for reasonable bail for his client on the grounds that she posed no risk of flight and had not been charged with simple larceny or receiving stolen property.
The magistrate granted Mingo and Harris bail in the sum of $200,000 each. She then ordered that Harris’s case be transferred to Court Two for October 13, while Mingo’s was transferred to the Leonora Magistrate’s Court for November 13.
