America Street moneychanger Ryburn Fraser, who was one of the businessmen robbed by armed bandits on November 3, 2015, testified yesterday at a city court.
Fraser, who said he has been doing work of that kind for over 32 years, said that the scene was unlike anything he had ever witnessed and described the acts of the bandits as “terrorism.”
According to him, on the night of the robbery, he had been sitting at the corner of America and Longden streets, opposite Fazia’s Collection, a clothing store, when he saw a white, tinted Premio vehicle “fly pass.” The vehicle had come from the direction of Avenue of the Republic and headed straight down America Street.
Shortly afterward, he said, about ten motorcycles pulled up with more than 15 men, some of whom had handkerchiefs over their noses. Before he could jump out of his seat, the men stopped their bikes in front of Fazia’s and started firing shots, causing those nearby to scatter in panic. A man, whose face was concealed, relieved him of $300,000 to $400,000 in cash that he had in his hands.
Fraser said that when he jumped out of his seat, he went to stand in the middle of the road and was approached by two men on a motorbike. One of the men had an AK-47 concealed in a rice bag. This man, he later identified as the number one accused, Troy Abrams, who had been the pillion rider. The rider of the motorbike he identified as Anthony Primo, the number two accused, and one of the inmates who died in last week’s Camp Street prison unrest. Primo, he stated, had been wearing a helmet at the time.
Although he admitted that the men’s faces were somewhat concealed, Fraser said he recognized them both because he had known them for years as they had both transacted business with him on several occasions.
Abrams came off the bike and according to Fraser, he was standing face-to-face with the accused when he told him to “Pass the (expletive) bag before I shoot you and kill you,” and pushed the AK-47 in his stomach. The man said he felt afraid for his life because it was only months prior that he had been attacked by bandits and shot seven times.
After handing over the bag of money, Fraser said, he put his hands in the air and Abrams once again climbed onto the bike. He related that the accused began firing shots into the air, at which point his accomplices began robbing passers-by. After they had concluded, they jumped back on to their bikes and rode away in the direction they came.
The ordeal was said to have lasted for 10-15 minutes.
At this point Fraser became emotional, crying, “Your worship, it wasn’t easy. It wasn’t easy for me.” He recounted how persons were lying face-down on the street, including a pregnant woman who he said sold newspapers nearby.
Fraser said that on November 7, he was called by police to identify his attackers. He related that as soon as he saw the two men, he recognised them and pointed them out to the police. They were identified in two separate lineups.
Under cross-examination, Abrams’ lawyer, Mortimer Coddette, questioned the reliability of Fraser’s evidence. He suggested to the businessman that given his state of shock at the time of the incident, as well as the fact that he had been the victim of a robbery earlier that year, he may have been confused about the events that took place that evening. Fraser disagreed with the claim.
Coddette also brought into question Fraser’s identification of his client, saying that although he had earlier claimed that those on the identification parade all looked alike—similar height and build— he had also said that none of the other men had their hair plaited, suggesting they did not all in fact look alike. This, he stated, made Fraser’s ID unreliable.
He also questioned why he had not asked Abrams to speak during the ID parade as a form of identification, asking him to repeat the phrase he had uttered during the robbery. Fraser replied that no one had told him to do such, and furthermore, he had known the defendant for years.
Re-examination was declined by Prosecutor Deniro Jones.
Before the beginning of the trial yesterday, Coddette had once again made an application for bail on Abrams’ behalf, citing the unfortunate event at the prison. He stated that those who are accused are innocent until proven guilty and that it was unfortunate that Primo had perished as a result of not being granted his pre-trial liberty on a bailable offence.
Jones, however, maintained his objection to bail being granted, stating that Abrams would be afforded a trial within a reasonable time.
On November 9, Abrams, 40, of Lot 93 Crane Housing Scheme and Primo, 30, of West Ruimveldt were charged with robbing Fraser of a quantity of currency, equating to $1,600,000. They were also accused of robbing Osafo Ward of currency totalling $540,000.
