(Trinidad Express) The two alleged gangsters captured last week at the Hyatt Regency hotel, Port of Spain, along with 21 other suspected gang members, appeared in court on Monday, all claiming innocence of the charges levelled against them.
Cedric “Burkie” Burke, 36, was charged with being the leader of a gang, while Keon “Baine” Bain, 31, was charged with being a gang member.
They were charged by PC Nobel Smith after officers attached to the Port of Spain Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested them while they were allegedly hiding out at the Hyatt on August 26.
Burke and Bain were nabbed by police around 11.30 a.m. on Friday in a room at the Waterfront hotel.
Karen Hall, a 26-year-old San Juan woman, who, according to police, claimed to be the men’s secretary, was also detained at the hotel.
She was subsequently released after being interviewed by Port of Spain CID officers.
The two men, who paid in cash for their stay at the hotel, reportedly exchanged rooms often.
They had initially checked in on August 23, two days after Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar announced a state of emergency in the country.
