A mason charged with armed robbery was on Wednesday remanded by a City Magistrate after the Court heard that he had been positively identified by the virtual complainant.
Terrence Bastiani, 25, a mason, appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court, where he was read an armed robbery charge.
The charge against Bastiani stated that on February 20, at James Street, Albouystown, Georgetown, while being in the company of another and while armed with a gun, he robbed Delon Walcott of a Samsung cellphone valued $200,000 and a gold chain valued $110,000, property of Delon Walcott.
Attorney-at-law Adrian Thompson made an application for Bastiani to be released on reasonable bail. According to Thompson, Bastiani, who lives at Lot 66 North Street, Albouystown, Georgetown, was arrested on Saturday, July 10, but was never placed on an identification parade. He further told the court that his client was singled out by a woman who claims to be a witness to the robbery.
However, the police prosecutor informed the court that due to the serious nature of the offence, a gun being used, and the fact that Walcott had positively identified the accused who in turn had given a different address to the police, he was objecting to bail being granted.
According to the prosecutor, on the day in question, Walcott and his girlfriend were at James Street when the accused and another, allegedly, walked up to them, pointed the gun at them, and robbed Walcott of the articles mentioned in the charge. They made their escape and Walcott and his girlfriend subsequently reported the robbery to the police. The man was positively identified to the police by Walcott who stated that he knows Bastiani. The police were able to locate Bastiani and arrest him. The prosecutor also told the court that Walcott is no longer in the country but because he had already identified the man to the police, there was no need for an identification parade. Further, Bastiani told the police that he lives at Lot 64 James Street, Albouystown.
Chief Magistrate McLennan asked Bastiani to confirm whether the address provided to the police was his home address but he stated that the address given by his attorney was in fact correct. The magistrate then remanded Bastiani until July 28.
