A 42-year-old miner who allegedly held a man at gunpoint and robbed him of over $4M in gold was yesterday remanded to prison after he appeared before acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.
It is alleged that on October 9 at Mahdia the accused Shawn Griffith, also known as ‘Chicken’, being armed with a dangerous weapon to wit a gun, robbed Chandradat Bahadur of 15 ounces of gold valued $4.5M, property of Deonarine Jaipersaud.
The matter is indictable and the accused was not required to plead to the charge when it was read to him.
It is further alleged that on the same day the miner assaulted Steven Atkinson so as to cause him actual bodily harm. After the charge was read to him the Amelia’s Ward resident pleaded not guilty to the offence.
Prosecutor Lionel Harvey in presenting the facts told the court that on the day in question the VC and his workmen concluded their day’s operation, washed down the gold which amounted to the value stated in the charge and left the location for their camp. However, the accused who was armed with a handgun approached the VC and relieved him of the gold.
After stating the facts the prosecutor objected to bail on the grounds that it is likely that the defendant will interfere with the witnesses because of threats that were made. He also cited the seriousness of the offence.
The magistrate ruled in favour of the application by the prosecution and the man was remanded to prison. The matter was transferred to the Mahdia Magistrates’ Court for October 19.
