Five of the six men who were apprehended on Tuesday night following an armed robbery at a Parika bar were yesterday remanded to jail on multiple charges of armed robbery.
Trevor Xavier, 25, a porter of 145 Cooper Street, Albouystown, Derick Pealey, 24, a miner of Kuru Kuru Squatting Area, Blade Hardeen, 24, a Superbet cashier of 451 Section ‘A,’ Block ‘Y,’ Diamond, Raymond Lindo, 19, a taxi driver of Diamond, and Joseph Jai Singh, 25, a mason, of Independence Boulevard, all pleaded not guilty to four counts of armed robbery.
The four charges allege that on October 16th, at Parika, being armed with guns, the men robbed Sherman De Souza of a cell phone and $5,000 in cash; that they robbed Josh Benjamin of a cell phone and $35,000 in cash; that they robbed Tamika Daniels of a cell phone, valued $10,000; and that they robbed Jenny Ramkissoon of a laptop, valued $300,000, a cellphone valued $120,000 and $50,000 in cash.
In addition to the four charges, Xavier, Jai Singh and Hardeen also faced a separate armed robbery charge, which alleged that the trio, in the company of others, robbed Sachin Tagedat of four cell phones and $325,000, on September 27th, 2018, at Zeelugt, East Bank Essequibo.
Xavier was also faced with additional charges of illegal possession of guns and ammunition. It was alleged that on October 17th, at Meer-Zorgen, he had in his possession two handguns as well as seven live rounds of .38 ammunition for one of the guns and a magazine containing ammunition for the other gun. Xavier, pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.
And while bail applications were made by their respective lawyers, the prosecution asked the court to consider that seriousness of the offences committed and the fact that the men had been providing different names and addresses to court and the police.
As a result, the magistrate ordered that the men be remanded until their next hearing, which is November 14th.
Additionally, the magistrate also granted a request made by Hardeen for him to be allowed medical attention for a fractured jaw and a swollen eye, which he claimed he sustained following a beating inflicted on him by three officers at the Leonora Police Station.
However, the prosecution told the court that Hardeen had indeed been beaten but it was at the hands of one of his co-accused and not by officers as he had told the court.
Nevertheless, the magistrate ordered that Hardeen’s claim be investigated.
Police had said the five men, along with Charles McIntyre, 18, a salesman of Plantation Best Village, West Bank Demerara, were arrested by ranks of ‘D’ Division last Tuesday. It was noted that three of the six were at the time accused of invading a Parika, East Bank Essequibo sports bar and robbing the proprietress, Ramkissoon and two patrons, of a quantity of cash and other valuables on the same night.
The vehicle that was used to commit the crime, a black Toyota Allion, was intercepted by the police at Cornelia Ida, West Coast of Demerara, and three of the suspects were held then. The others were subsequently arrested. One of the suspects was allegedly found in possession of two unlicensed handguns and seven live rounds, the police noted. The stolen articles were recovered.
