A taxi driver accused of using a gun to rob local designer Trevor Rose of more than $2M was yesterday remanded to prison when he appeared before the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.
Aman Lalchand who was allegedly armed with a gun on February 18 is accused of robbing Rose of $2.6M, property of the said Rose.
Lalchand who resides at 29 Howes Street, Charlestown denied the robbery-under-arms charge levelled against him when it was read by acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry.
Police Corporal Venetta Pindar who presented the prosecution’s facts of the case said that on the day in question, the virtual complainant (VC) was at the Parade Ground with his employers working on designs for Mashramani when he was approached by the accused who demanded the cash.
According to Pindar, the VC resisted the defendant and was immediately confronted with the gun which the defendant discharged in his direction causing a fearful Rose to comply with the orders given to him by the accused.
The corporal said that after the incident, Lalchand then made good his escape but was subsequently arrested and charged after a mobile police patrol was alerted by the alarms raised by the complainant.
The prosecution objected to the accus-ed being admitted to bail, citing that he has similar pending matters before the courts and may likely commit other offences if granted his pretrial liberty.
Meanwhile, expressing resentment, Lalchand questioned why he was only pointed out as a perpetrator so long after the alleged incident occurred.
He argued that he was slapped with the charge on Monday after visiting the Brickdam Police Station as he had been ordered to do by a magistrate who had granted him bail on a related offence, of which he emphasized he is innocent.
He explained to the court that a condition of the bail granted for the pending matter is that he reports to the Brickdam Police Station every Monday. He said that it was while there that he was arraigned.
According to Lalchand, he was not placed on an identification (ID) parade. He also questioned why he was arrested on Monday so long after the alleged incident, more so since the police know his address and how to get in contact with him.
Despite his pleas to be granted self-bail, the unrepresented Lalchand was informed by the magistrate that he will be remanded to prison.
He returns to court on March 21 for statements.
