Two men accused of robbing a man with a gun and assaulting another with intent to rob him were yesterday granted bail in the sum of $300,000 each when they appeared before Magistrate Hazel Octave-Hamilton.
The allegation against Collis King and Shaka Chase is that on July 29, at William Street, Georgetown, being armed with a gun, they robbed Shawn Bryn of a BlackBerry Smartphone, a quantity of cash and other items valued $49,000 and the property of the said Bryn.
On the same day, also at William Street, the two are alleged to have assaulted Sherlock D’Aguiar with intent to rob him. The jointly-charged duo was not required to plead to the indictable charges when they were read to them at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.
Attorney Adrian Thompson, who represented Chase, 26, of 169 East Ruimveldt, argued that the police held no confrontation between his client and the complainant and neither was he placed on any identification (ID) parade. Thompson pointed out too that his client had been kept in police custody, in excess of the 72 hour maximum period a suspect can be held without charge.
According to Thompson, Chase “heard that the police were looking for him as a suspect and he turned himself in.”
In a bail application, the lawyer said that his client, a clothes vendor, had been cooperating with police investigations, posed no risk of flight and had a fixed place of abode.
The prosecution had requested that both defendants be remanded to prison but was unsuccessful in its bid after the court learnt that indeed no confrontation was held and that defendants were not placed on an ID parade.
Police sergeant Lionel Harvey said that according to his instructions, the two were arrested and charged based on a report, description and police investigations.
Harvey, in his address to the court, objected to Chase being admitted to bail, noting that the police are in possession of an oral confession from him. The sergeant said too that Chase has been admitted to bail on a pending attempted murder charge and has now allegedly committed another offence.
As it relates to King, the prosecution asked that the 19-year-old labourer be remanded to prison on the grounds of the seriousness and prevalence of the offences.
The unrepresented King, who also said he lived at 169 East Ruimveldt, however, made an application to be granted bail and was also granted same in the sum of $300,000. The matters were transferred to Court One for reports on October 18.