A man accused of committing two gunpoint robberies on the same day was yesterday remanded to prison after appearing before Magistrate Fazil Azeez at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.
The allegation against Eweert Skeete is that on November 1 at Georgetown, being armed with a gun, he robbed Marvin Persaud of a quantity of cash and jewellery valued $81,000, property of the said Marvin Persaud.
On the same day also, Skeete is accused of robbing Vickram Singh at gunpoint of one cell phone and cash, all to the value of $425,000, property oaf the said Vickram Singh.
The accused was not required to plead to the two indictable charges of robbery under arms when they were read to him by the magistrate.
When permitted by the magistrate to speak, the defendant told the court that he did not rob anyone and he had no knowledge of the offences for which he had been charged.
He accused the police officers handling his case of using harsh and torturous methods towards him because he told them that he had no knowledge of what had transpired on the day in question and was in no way involved with whatever may have occurred.
Skeete further told the court that upon his arrest, he was badly beaten with a cutlass by the police and they also covered his face with a black plastic bag before using a “shocking gun” to shock him about the body.
Magistrate Azeez told the defendant that his allegations against the police would first have to be properly investigated to ascertain their merit. Azeez said that he has had experiences with defendants falsely claiming that they were tortured by the police when in fact they were not.
The magistrate, however, acknowledged that there were other cases where the use of excessive force by the police was proven to be true. On this note, the magistrate ordered the prosecution to ensure that a thorough investigation is carried out into Skeete’s complaints.
“As magistrates we are never happy about such issues where the police act in an inhumane manner towards defendants. This act must stop,” the magistrate asserted.
Neither of the virtual complainants was present at court.
The prosecution made an application for the accused to be remanded to prison on the basis that the offence was serious and prevalent.
This submission was accepted and Skeete was denied his pretrial liberty. He was ordered to return to court on November 10.
