A mason accused of possession of 19 rounds of ammunition was granted bail yesterday after he told a court that he was badly beaten by police.
Stefan Anthony Lacaille, 31, a mason of Kitty, Georgetown, was arraigned before Principal Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus, who appeared virtually at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts. Lacaille denied that on October 14, at Duncan Street, Newtown, Kitty, Georgetown, he had 19 .223 rounds of Remington ammunition without being the lawful holder of a firearm licence.
According to Police Prosecutor Annalisa Brummell, on the day in question, police went to the location and noticed Lacaille acting in a suspicious manner. He was approached and the police noticed a white bag fitted in a hole of a wire mesh fence. The bag was taken down and inside the police discovered the 19 rounds of ammunition. The man was then cautioned and arrested.
Prosecutor Brummell said that the man gave the police a caution statement where he admitted that the bag belonged to him. She said that Sergeant Felix, attached at the Kitty Police Station, gave a statement saying that Lacaille was talking to the police when they first arrived at the location and the man seemed to be distracting them.
However, Lacaille told the court that he had been in custody since Thursday and that he was beaten several times by the police, including the investigating rank who was present in court. He told the magistrate that he decided to lie to the police in his caution statement because he thought it was the only way they would stop beating him. He further said that the bag was found in the neighbour’s yard and that several persons live in the yard. He said that he was surprised that he was the only person charged.
Addressing the alleged assault, Lacaille told the court that moments before arriving at the court he was hit three times by the investigating rank. He also said that he repeatedly asked to go to the hospital but he was not taken there until yesterday morning.
The police prosecutor indicated to the court that the man had small bruises and she further relayed a medical certificate to the magistrate. Lacaille said he was having blurred vision from his left eye and his leg was numb from being hit with a baton.
The Magistrate released him on $150,000 bail and said that because of his complaint of being beaten and being in custody since last week she was going release him. The condition for bail is that he reports to the Kitty Police Station once per week. She warned him to return to court. However, the man said that the bail amount was too high. He said that his grandmother and mother would not be able to afford it but the magistrate indicated that she would only consider a reduction at the next hearing on November 8.
