A youth was remanded to prison on Wednesday after he was accused of using a knife to rob a woman of her money and cellphone before giving her $200 to get home.
Kelwin Williams, 18, of South Ruimveldt appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts when he pleaded guilty “with explanation” to an armed robbery charge.
The charge was read to him by Principal Magistrate Faith McGusty and it stated that on October 22 at Regent Street, Georgetown, while he was in the company of another and armed with a knife, he robbed Shoma Deowattie of a cellphone valued $60,000 and $3,700 in cash.
The unrepresented youth told the court that he pleads guilty to handing the knife over to the man who committed the act but that he did not see the woman get robbed.
Further in his explanation of the events that took place on the day, he said that he conducts a Kitty/Campbellville bus and that the woman was a passenger in the bus. She paid him and exited the bus when it got to the park and that another man who he knows was in the bus. He said that he had a knife stuck in the corner of the door which the other man asked him for. After giving him the knife he said he did not see where the man went but that soon after city constabulary officers came along with the woman and said that he had robbed her.
The virtual complainant who was present in court objected to the man’s explanation. She told the magistrate that she had already paid the fare and had walked away when she was approached by both men and that the other man who was not charged nor in court on Wednesday had the knife in his hand when he demanded that she give them all her money. She said she was scared because they had a knife so she complied. She also added that the conductor gave her $200 to get home just before they left.
She said she went to the police constabulary immediately after the robbery occurred.
The Police Prosecutor, Sean Blackman, told the court that according to his facts Williams gave the knife to the other man and told him “do yuh thing” just before the woman was robbed.
After listening to all the facts presented to the court, the Magistrate asked Williams whether he’d like to change his plea to not guilty given that he said he did not rob the woman. The conductor responded that his plea remains, insisting that he gave the man the knife but did not know the man was going rob her.
With this information the Magistrate remanded him to prison stating that the matter will have to go to trial since he was pleading guilty to arming the man but not being an accomplice in the offence. The matter was adjourned to November 13.