Dequan King, who was recently nabbed in Suriname for a 2021 gold heist in Kitty, yesterday confessed in court to his role and said that he got $3m from the proceeds of the crime.
Sentencing has been deferred for a probation report to be done.
The 27-year-old King of Lot 23 Sixth Street, Cummings Lodge, East Coast Demerara (ECD), was arraigned in the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court before Principal Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus in Court 3. The charges stated that on August 5th of 2021, at Wallison Enterprise, Lot 23 Gordon Street, Kitty, Georgetown, while being armed with a dangerous weapon, to wit a gun, and acting in concert with other persons, he [King] robbed Wallison Enterprise of 60 ounces of raw gold worth $20 million and $38 million in cash.
On the said date and at the same address, it is further stated that he also robbed Francis Santos Nunes of one gold chain valued $150,000, one gold ring valued $60,000 and $14,000 in cash. The other charge stated that during the gold heist he robbed Fernanda Carmichael of one iPhone valued at $350,000 and Wallison DaSilva of a cellular phone worth $160,000. King, who was unrepresented, pleaded guilty to all four of the charges. However, despite his guilty plea, he was remanded and sentencing was deferred until November 21st. Magistrate Isaacs-Marcus said that in order for a proper decision to be made, a probation report will be needed at the next court hearing.
According to the facts which were read in court, on the day in question at Gordon Street, Kitty, King was in the company of others when they went to Wallison Enterprise, an entity that trades in raw gold and robbed several employees, along with the store, of the items which were mentioned in the four charges.
The Police Prosecutor said that the defendant, along with his accomplices then fled to ‘B’ Field Sophia where they divided the loot among themselves. When the matter was reported to the Police, an investigation was launched and a wanted bulletin was issued for the suspects.
On October 9th, 2022, King was nabbed by the Surinamese authorities and handed over to the Guyana Police Force on October 12th. The prosecutor went on to say that during an oral interview, King confessed to the robbery and admitted that he had received $5 million from the loot. However, when given a chance to explain himself to the Magistrate, King said that he received $3 million and not $5 million as was mentioned in the prosecutor’s facts. When asked to give his version of the robbery, King told the court that on August 5th 2021 he received a phone call to do a “pick-up” at Norton Street where he proceeded to comply with the instructions.
He said that he asked the passengers where they were heading, to which they said that they were going to Wallison to sell a quantity of raw gold. King added that when they arrived there, the passengers asked him to wait for them, and shortly after, he saw the men running with a bag and a firearm from out of the store and they told him to drive to ‘B’ Field Sophia. He said that he had no knowledge of what the men did, however, upon asking, they informed him that they had just robbed Wallison Enterprise.
It was at ‘B’ Field Sophia where he was given the $3 million. The defendant went on to say that after his engagement with the suspects, he decided to call a few people to seek advice and was told that he should “go away for a little while because the people who looking for you will kill you”. King said that he was scared for his life and decided to flee to the Puruni Backdam. He said that while there, he made another phone call and while speaking on the phone with that person, he overheard that people were looking to “kill him”, and as such, he escaped to neighbouring Suriname.
The man who begged for his freedom in court yesterday, told the Magistrate that he was “sorry for not turning himself in” and that he was “sorry for not making the right decision”. He then asked Magistrate Isaacs-Marcus to be lenient with him and promised her that such behaviour by him “will never happen again.”
In August, 2021, three men entered Wallison Enterprise on the pretext of selling gold. The police said that once in the building, they held two employees, a 45-year-old goldsmith and a 20-year-old female cashier at gunpoint and ordered them to be taken to the safe which contained the valuables. Following the heist, police recovered the suspected getaway car, abandoned in front of a suspect’s home at Cummings Lodge, ECD.
Stabroek News had previously reported that according to Waterkant, a Suriname media outlet, King was arrested in Suriname on the evening of October 9th by the Regional Assistance Team Paramaribo (RBTP) in collaboration with the National Security Directorate (DNV).