Nine Linden men were yesterday arraigned on charges that they threw missiles at police ranks between last Friday and Sunday.
Careem Ashby, Delson Lampkin, Eon Webster, Jamal Somerset, Garfield Jones and Dexter Benjamin, Ulrick Lowenfield, Glenroy Chapman and Alex Mark, all denied the charge levelled against them when they appeared before Magistrate Hazel Octive-Hamilton at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.
The men were placed on $7,500 bail each in relation to the charges after bail applications by their lawyers.
Jointly charged with the offence were: Ashby, 22, a mason of Lot 1998 Central Amelia’s Ward, Linden; Lampkin, 43, a heavy-duty machine operator of Lot 119 Amelia’s Ward; Webster, 29, a mason, of Lot 1579 Central Amelia’s Ward; and Somerset, 18, a student of the Linden Technical Institute, who resides at Lot 47 Wisroc Housing Scheme. The allegation against them is that on August 10, at the Mackenzie/Wismar Bridge, at Linden, they threw missiles to the annoyance of Inspector of Police Andrew Cumberbatch and other ranks. Jones, 44, a miner of Lot 13 Silvertown Wismar, Linden and Benjamin, 35, a mason of Lot 159 Half Mile, were also jointly charged with the same offence but they were separately arraigned.
Lowenfield, 22, a student who resides at 49 North Blueberry Hill Wismar, Linden and Chapman, 34, a miner of 130 Half Mile, Wismar, Linden, were also jointly-charged and separately arraigned for the offence. The charge against them stated that at the Wisroc junction, at Wismar, Linden on August 12, they threw missiles to the annoyance of Police Constable Cleon Joris and other ranks.
Chapman was slapped with additional charges of having an unlicensed cartridge shell in his possession and assaulting a police officer, to which he also pleaded not guilty. Mark, 21, of Wismar, meanwhile, was charged separately for throwing missiles.
It was alleged that on August 12, at Wismar, Chapman had in his possession a component of ammunition; that being a 12-gauge cartridge shell without licence. It was also alleged that on the same day, at the Wisroc Junction, he unlawfully assaulted Constable Joris, who was acting in the execution of his duties.
The men were represented by attorneys Basil Williams and James Bond, who made lengthy submissions in bail applications.
After the charge was read to Ashby, Lampkin, Webster and Somerset, Williams asked the court to take judicial note of the “crisis situation” which looms over Linden.
He said that the offence with which they men are charged is alleged to have occurred at approximately 2 am and he questioned the plausibility of the defendants throwing missiles at anyone during “that hour” of the morning.
Williams also begged the court to also take judicial notice of the “hostility” meted out to residents in Linden by members of the disciplinary forces deployed there and subsequently requested that his clients be granted bail in nominal amounts.
The prosecution, in response, had no objection to those men being granted bail, but requested that it be set in a substantial sum. The request prompted Williams to ask, “Why substantial bail for a summary offense of this nature?”
The court made the same enquiry and observation and Inspector Burgette Grant, the prosecutor, said in a quiet tone, “due to the crisis in Linden.”
The prosecutor’s quiet tone caused Magistrate Octive-Hamilton to tell her that she needed to speak louder as the defendants had a right to hear what she was saying. “You are asking for substantial bail because of the crisis in Linden?” the magistrate questioned, before saying that the court was recording the prosecution’s application. She then informed the quartet that they would each be granted bail in the sum of $7,500.
Meanwhile, as it relates to the charge against Lowenfield and Chapman, Grant objected to bail on the grounds that, “with the situation in Linden, this kind of offence seems to be prevalent against the police and it is likely that if the defendants are placed on bail there will be a recurrence.”
The magistrate, however, set bail for Lowenfield and Chapman at $7,500 each for the offence.
‘All over Linden’
Meanwhile, when asked to advance special reasons for Chapman’s pre-trial liberty to be considered as regards the ammunition charge, Williams maintained that his client knew nothing of that allegation. “The whole world knows that the police and army are using shells in Linden and in other instances even live rounds and tear gas,” he said.
The indiscriminate use of firearms by members of the Joint Services in the mining town have led to residents finding shells in their yards and even on the roads, he noted, saying that they have been taking the implements to the police stations there.
“These things are all over Linden,” Williams declared and argued that his client was never in possession of any cartridge. Instead, he claimed, police decided to round up a group of young men and Chapman was subsequently taken to the station and told by police that he was in possession of the cartridge.
But Prosecutor Grant objected to bail for Chapman on the charge, saying the police’s facts were different from that of the defence. According to Grant, a search was carried out on Chapman’s person, after which the cartridge was found in his front left-side pants pocket. The court then informed that because the conflicting accounts, Chapman would be denied bail.
He was, however, granted $10,000 bail on the charge of assaulting police officer, to which the prosecution had no objection.
In that matter, Williams alleged that Chapman was severely battered by the police and accused of the assault, after being detained in custody for two days.
Williams said that Chapman was repeatedly kicked in his back and about his body by the police and had sustained several lacerations, for which he was denied the opportunity of seeking medical attention.
Chapman was invited into the well of the court, where the magistrate took a close look at him and she declared that only a little scratch was seen on his left arm. Attorney Bond, however, emphasised that it was a laceration and stressed that while there were no other visible injuries, Chapman was battered by the lawmen.
The defendants were all ordered to return to the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court One on September 17 for reports and fixtures. Meanwhile, Bond in a bail application for Jones and Benjamin, stressed that the men were innocent of the charge levelled against them. They were then each placed on $7,500 bail.
Linden has been in a state of unrest following protest action by residents over a high in the electricity rates, which subsequently intensified with the fatal shooting of three men, after police opened fire on protestors. The protest that began on July 18 has continued beyond in its initial five-day timetable, during which time Joint Services have been trying to secure the community, which has seen roads blocked and several buildings torched. The actions of police in the town have come in for criticism by residents and opposition leaders, who say their actions are escalating the unrest in the town.
Meanwhile, other men were also charged based on arrests in Linden on Sunday.
Ron Bovell, 19, was charged with having an ice-pick in his possession without lawful authority or reasonable cause.
He was granted $7,000 after pleading not guilty to a charge of carrying an offensive weapon. It was alleged that on August 12, at One Mile, Wismar, Linden, without lawful authority or reasonable cause, Bovell, of 1042 Cinderella City Amelia’s Ward, Linden, he was found by police with an ice-pick.
His lawyer, Bond, sought reasonable bail, telling the court that Bovell had a fixed address, had no previous brushes with the law and posed no risk of flight.
The prosecution had no objection to the labourer being granted his pre-trial liberty and bail was granted.
Bovell’s next court date is September 17, at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court One.
Rickey Fredericks, 28, meanwhile, was accused of using indecent language and placed on $5,000 bail after he pleaded not guilty.
It was alleged that on August 12, at the One Mile Public Road, he used indecent language; thus resulting in a breach of the peace.
The Kwakwani resident denied the charge when it was read to him.
Bond, who also represented him, asked the court for reasonable bail, saying that Fredericks had no antecedents, had a fixed place of abode at Kwakwani and posed no risk of flight.
The prosecution had no objections to the bail application and Fredericks was informed that he was granted $5,000 bail. He was ordered to return to the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court One for September 17 for reports and fixtures.
Police also reported yesterday that two men, Henry Benn, 52, and Stephen Greaves, 30, of Half Mile, Wismar, were charged with cultivation of cannabis sativa (marijuana).
Benn was remanded to prison until September 18, 2012, while Stephen Greaves was placed on $85,000 bail and ordered to return to court on the same date, police said.
