Steven O’Neil, the last of the suspects in pirate attacks carried out in September, has been captured and charged.
O’Neil was yesterday remanded to prison after he was arraigned before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.
It was alleged that on September 8, on the Essequibo River, in the North West District, O’Neil, being armed with a gun, robbed Vibert Singh and his crew of a Yamaha boat engine, eight phone cards and a quantity of fish glue, valued at $616,000 in total.
It was also alleged that on the same date, O’Neil and others robbed Gewan Singh and his crew of a radio set, a GPS device, a fishing net and a quantity of fish glue, valued at $686,000 in total.
No details were provided to the court about the attacks.
Prosecutor Steven Telford, however, said that more charges are still to be filed against O’Neil. As a result, he objected to bail on the grounds that if O’Neil is granted his pre-trial liberty, there is a possibility that he could flee the jurisdiction or tamper with the witnesses.
The magistrate subsequently remanded O’Neil to prison and the case was adjourned until January 2, 2013, when the commencement of the Preliminary Inquiry is scheduled.
Following robberies beginning at LBI and moving to the Pomeroon River and the Waini Coast, in Region One, the police launched an operation in the Barima/Waini area and arrested three of five suspected pirates. Police recovered five boat engines, a quantity of fish glue, a Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) device, six cell phones and a boat that was used during the robberies.
Three men, Richard Mangal, Eon Sampson, and Gary Joseph, were subsequently charged with robbing several fishermen of over $6M in the attacks, while a wanted bulletin was issued for another, Terry Joseph, one of the two men who managed to elude capture.
Terry Joseph was eventually captured and charged. He was also sentenced last month to a three-year jail term for escaping from police custody.
Joseph, 29, of Lot 6 Farm Squatting Area, East Bank Demerara, pleaded guilty when he appeared before the Chief Magistrate on a charge of escaping lawful custody. He still has charges relating to the attacks pending.