Three men and a woman were yesterday arraigned in the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court where they were slapped with three counts of robbery under arms, which stated that they stole over $8 million in cash, gold jewellery, and designer branded items.
Twenty-five-year-old Abiel Rodrigues of Lot 20 West La Penitence, Georgetown; Decter Simon, 26, of Lot 53 Russell Street, Charlestown, Georgetown; Ronald Ashby, 38, of Lot 4 Hadley Street, Sophia; and 40-year-old Umberlena Appollo of Lot 3 Hadley Street, Sophia, all appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan where they were jointly charged.
The allegation brought against the four states that on September 29 at Lamaha Street, Georgetown, while being in the company of each other and armed with dangerous weapons, being guns, they robbed Abigail Joseph of one gold and diamond ring valued at $304,000, one gold band valued at $350,000, one pair of gold earrings valued at $80,000, one gold chain valued at $50,000, a gold ring worth $16,000, a Michael Kors watch worth $45,000, one Movado watch valued at $100,000, two cellphones valued at $275,000, and $2.1 million in cash, all property of Abigail Joseph.
In addition, Rodrigues, Simon, Ashby, and Appollo on the same date and at the same address, allegedly robbed Michael Williams of one pair of diamond earrings valued at $320,000, an Apple iPhone 12 Pro valued at $270,000, one laptop computer valued at $200,000, a Movado watch valued at $315,000, one Seiko watch worth $55,000, a Louis Vuitton belt valued at $104,000, one Nike gym bag worth $13,000, and $50,000 in cash, all property of Michael Williams.
The other particular of the offence states that the same defendants on September 29 at Lamaha Street, Georgetown, robbed both Joseph and Williams of one digital video recorder (DVR) worth $50,000 and over $7 million in cash.
Rodrigues and Ashby were represented by attorney-at-law Clyde Ford who made a bail application on their behalf, Ford told the court that Rodrigues has an expired passport and as such he is not a flight risk, He added that both of his clients are willing to abide by any orders that may be imposed by the court that may be a result of their penalties.
However, prosecutor Dinero Jones objected to bail on the grounds that Rodrigues is not a first-time offender, since he was previously charged with a similar offence allegedly committed on Regent Street, Georgetown, a while back.
As such, Chief Magistrate McLennan denied bail to the four defendants and remanded them to prison. They are expected to make their second court appearance on October 26 when the matter when will be called again.
Meanwhile, according to the facts read in court, the two virtual complainants are a businessman and woman who operate a store called Brazil Gold Parts on the ground floor of a building located at Lot 16 Lamaha Street, Queenstown, Georgetown.
On the day in question, at about 14:00 hours, Joseph and Williams were in the store when Simon and Rodrigues barged into the building brandishing handguns with masks over their faces, and robbed the store of the aforementioned items.
The other two suspects, Ashby, who police said was the driver of the getaway car and Appollo, were also in the store during the time of the robbery. It was said that they tied up the virtual complainants and then removed the DVR from the building and escaped. After they left, Joseph and Williams managed to free themselves and immediately reported the matter to the police.
According to prosecutor Jones, the police acting on information received and CCTV footage taken from government cameras went in search of the suspects. The police first managed to apprehend Rodrigues. During the investigation, it was stated that Rodrigues took the police to his home where he handed over $600,000 in cash, while Ashby did the same and handed over $200,000.
During the court hearing, the three men kept yelling out that they had been severely brutalised by ranks of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at the Brickdam Police Station. According to them, they were beaten with pieces of wood and terrorized with tear gas. Simon yesterday appeared in court with a bandage covering his left eye, while complaining about severe pain to the right side of his abdomen.
