A man arraigned on two counts of robbery under arms and unlicensed firearm and ammunition possession was yesterday remanded to prison when he made his appearance before acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry.
The allegation against Robin Holder is that on January 24 at Georgetown, being armed with a gun, he robbed Joan Williams and Orin Hudson of a quantity of cash and jewellery valued $300,000 and $463,000 respectively.
On the said day also, Holder is accused of having a revolver and four live rounds of ammunition without licence.
The 20-year-old defendant of ‘XX’ 13 East La Penitence was not required to enter a plea to the indictable charges of robbery under arms when they were read to him. He, however, denied the latter two charges levelled against him.
Holder responded in a whisper when he was asked about his guilt or innocence relating to the charges.
It was at this point that his attorney, George Thomas, told the court that his client was unable to speak loudly since he had a bullet lodged in his throat.
Thomas contended that his client was an innocent bystander who was wrongfully implicated in an incident he knew nothing about.
The lawyer said that according to his instructions, Holder was at a city bar on the day of the incident when he was hit with a bullet in an exchange of gunfire among a number of persons; and was subsequently taken into custody and arraigned.
Thomas argued that his client had gone into the bar to collect a drink after paying for it when the alleged incident occurred.
Stating that he did not wish to get into further details of the case, Thomas made an application for his client to be admitted to reasonable bail on the grounds that he has a fixed address, poses no risk of flight and has been cooperating with police investigations.
He further disclosed that while his client has a matter before another court, he has been attending whenever required to do so.
In presenting the prosecution’s facts of the case, Police Corporal Lionel Harvey told the court that on the day in question the virtual complainants were at a bar when the defendant walked in, whipped out a handgun and demanded the articles mentioned in the charge.
Harvey said there was an exchange of gunfire between the accused and a licensed firearm holder who was a patron of the bar at the time and the accused sustained injuries.
The court then heard that after the incident, Holder was rushed to the hospital where he was later arrested and charged.
The prosecutor objected to bail citing that the robbery charge is a serious and prevalent one. He added that with reference to the unlicensed possession of firearm and ammunition charges, he is bound by legislation where the issue of bail is concerned.
According to Harvey, the defence needed to advance, as a matter of legality, special circumstances relating to the offence and not the offender.
When given a chance to lead his defence in this regard, Thomas told the court that his client was “an innocent bystander who had gone into the bar to purchase a drink.”
After listening to both the prosecution and defence, the magistrate informed the accused that he will be denied his pre-trial liberty.
His matter was transferred to Court Five for February 14 for reports and fixtures.
