A bus driver, who was fined following a viral video of him snatching a passenger’s phone after she complained of noise nuisance has denied assault and damage to property charges.
Josh Harry of Lot 28 Back Road, Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara, who is also a butcher, appeared at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court when he denied the charges read to him by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan. It is alleged that on April 12 at Houston, Greater Georgetown, he unlawfully assaulted Odella Peroune and unlawfully and maliciously damaged a cellphone screen valued $40,000, property of Peroune.
He was placed on $10,000 bail and the matter was adjourned until May 14.
He had previously appeared before Senior Magistrate Clive Nurse and was fined $80,000 after he admitted to breach of condition of road service licence, making loud and continuous noise, unbecoming conduct of driver, and failing to carry a conductor. In the video, which was circulated widely on social media and seen by this newspaper, the woman who was a passenger in the bus Harry was driving, asked that he lower the volume of the music. However, instead of complying, he stopped the bus and asked her to leave.
After she refused to exit the bus and continued to video record the encounter on her phone, he attacked her and grabbed the phone out of her hand, in an attempt to prevent her from recording. According to the police prosecutor, the woman did not realise her phone was damaged until she arrived at the bus park.
She then reported the incident to the police and Harry was subsequently arrested and released on $30,000 station bail.
