Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson granted bail to a 49-year-old man when he appeared before her at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court for allegedly obtaining chicken from a woman under the pretext that he would be delivering it to the CARICOM Secretariat. Clayton Alleyne of Better Hope South, East Coast Demerara pleaded not guilty to the charge of fraudulent conversion.
He denied that between September 26 and October 10, he was solely entrusted with 900 pounds of chicken valued $270,000 by Sabrina McAlister in order that he would deliver it to the CARICOM Secretariat but he converted it to his own use and benefit.
However Alleyne’s lawyer, Leslie Sobers, told the court that his client is a businessman and the incident stemmed from a contractual arrangement between his client and McAlister.
He noted that his client is the sole breadwinner of his family. Sobers said too that the circumstances under which the incident occurred were unfortunate and unintended.
He said that Alleyne would usually credit several quantities of chicken from McAlister and this was the fourth occasion that this had been done. He said that his client would sell the chicken and return the earnings to McAlister in a certain time frame but when he had gone over that time McAlister became worried. The lawyer also posited that his client did not have to deliver any chicken to the CARICOM Secretariat.
The defence attorney then applied for bail on the grounds that his client posed no risk of flight, noting that he has no intention of leaving the jurisdiction. He added that his client had a “stiff” defence for the incident and he should be granted his pre-trial liberty.
Meanwhile, McAlister who was also present in court stated that this was the first time that she had entrusted Alleyne with chicken, noting that he had shown her a letter that had the CARICOM Secretariat letterhead on it requesting that she provide the chicken to them.
She said that Alleyne had collected two sets of chicken, while he sent another man to collect the third set.
She stated that she never received the money for the chicken.
The magistrate subsequently granted Alleyne bail in the sum of $250,000 and ordered that the case be transferred to Court Three for November 20.
Prosecutor Kevin London said that McAlister and Alleyne had known each other for over 25 years and Alleyne had indicated to her that he knew someone working at the CARICOM Secretariat who was interested in the chicken.
He said that McAlister had handed over the chicken to Alleyne but never received the payments.The prosecutor also noted that other matters of a similar nature are currently being investigated against Alleyne.