Accused of robbing a ‘wake house,’ a 19-year-old man was yesterday remanded to prison after pleading not guilty to two counts of robbery.
Kurt Simeon denied that he stole more than $260,000 worth of items on April 14. The first charge against him alleged that the youth, at Shell Road, Kitty, robbed Shahab Ally of over $250,000 in items, including $200,000 in cash and a $50,000 BlackBerry cellular phone.
According to the second charge, Simeon, while in the company of others and being armed with a gun, robbed Anand Kishore Sunilall of a $7,000 Ice Mobile phone.
It is the police’s case that the victims were attending a wake when the defendant and two other persons robbed them, along with several others. According to Prosecutor Deniro Jones, only two of the victims came forward to report the attack. Simeon was later identified in the Albouystown area by one of the victims after the police had been summoned.
Attorney-at-law George Thomas requested reasonable bail for Simeon. According to Thomas, his client is not a flight risk and had no pending matters. The lawyer added that the defendant and Ally are known to each other and share animosity between them. He further stated that Simeon was the victim of a “one man identification parade.”
In reply, Prosecutor Jones denied that the defendant and one of the virtual complainants are known to each other. Jones also objected to bail and noted that the Albouystown address supplied to the court by Simeon’s lawyer was not the same as a previously given address in Eccles.
Simeon was subsequently remanded to prison by Magistrate Ann McLennan and will make his next appearance before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry on May 29.
