A newspaper vendor was yesterday remanded to prison after being faced with three armed robbery charges.
Akeem Rajkumar, 29, a father of four of Leopold Street, was yesterday brought before Principal Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus, in Georgetown, when he was faced with the three charges. The first charge alleged that on November 11, 2019, at Leopold Street, being armed with a gun, he robbed Timothy Morrison of a cellphone, valued $98,000, a gold ring, valued $60,000 and $158,000 in cash.
The second charge stated that on the same date and at the same location, he robbed Ajay Mahadeo of a wallet, valued $8,900, $37,000 in cash and a cellphone, valued $80,000.
It was further alleged that he robbed Julia Alexie of an iPhone 11 Pro, valued $700,000, and a gold chain, valued $80,000.
Rajkumar denied all the allegations.
The Police Prosecutor then objected to bail being granted based on the fact that a firearm was used for the commissioning of the offences and based on Rajkumar’s history with the court. The Prosecutor said that Rajkumar has had several matters at the court which he did not attend. The court also heard that Rajkumar may be a flight risk. Additionally, the court was told that Rajkumar was positively identified by Morrison during an identification parade.
However, the newspaper vendor denied having current matters at the court. He said that the previous allegations were dismissed by Magistrate Fabayo Azore and that he attended court on every occasion. He also said that he keeps a party every weekend and the virtual complainants often attend the parties and that he would have no reason to rob them.
The Magistrate then refused bail and adjourned the matter until March 30.
