Residents in Rose Hall, Corentyne yesterday took to the street in protest after they accused lawmen in Berbice of wrongfully arresting a young man in connection with a robbery committed on a business place in the town. The young man’s relatives insisted that he was nowhere near the location at the time of the robbery.
On Monday evening, following the robbery, several raids were carried out in the town by police officers and Romel Thomas also known as ‘Govo’, 24, of Rose Hall, along with several others, was arrested.
Stabroek News was told that Thomas was held at a bar and restaurant located opposite the business which was robbed.
According to the police, the robbery was committed on Monday around 7 pm on Lois Lezama, 31, a manager at Cabana Marketing, Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara, while she was at the Jackpot and Lounge Bar owned and operated by Magistrate Rabindranauth Singh in Portuguese Quarter next to Rose Hall.
A report from the police said that the robbery was committed by two identifiable men armed with small handguns and dressed in dark clothing.
Lezama reportedly told investigators that for the past year, she along with other workers would visit Berbice locations that have the jackpot machines to uplift cash. At the Jackpot Lounge on Monday, they checked a sum of $1.1 million, which was placed in a black haversack with other cash totalling $5,246,240.
They then exited the bar and were attempting to enter her company vehicle which was parked in front of the business premises when a man armed with a black handgun pounced.
He grabbed at the bag, but she held onto it. This resulted in the perpetrator dealing her three lashes with the gun. Eventually, the bag was snatched and the perpetrators made good their escape, the police said.
However, Thomas’s mother, Barbara Harry, who was part of the peaceful protest yesterday, told Stabroek News, that her son left home around 7 pm on Monday with a friend to purchase food. “Dem leff and go by ShaVeh [business] to buy food and that time the robbery did done happen and dem ain’t even know about robbery, but the police go just so and pick up my son,” she said.
According to Harry, after she was informed that her son had been arrested, the next morning she visited the station where she was asked to wait most of the day. She left just around 2 pm after she was eventually told that her son was expected to be placed on bail.
However, according to her, Thomas was then taken to the Albion Police Station where an identification parade was done, after which the police escorted him to her house where they ransacked her premises in search of stolen cash and firearms.
She explained, “… If you see what dem do with my place… All the sugar, flour, everything dem dash way. He ask for lil water and the police knock way the water from he hand. Me want justice and me want them to release my son because he nah involved in that.”
According to the woman, frustrated with how the police were handling the investigation and treating her son, she and others decided to take to the street yesterday morning.
Thomas was eventually released from police custody hours after the protest yesterday.
After being released, he said that the entire experience has left him traumatised. He stressed that he was not part of the commissioning of any crime.
According to the young man, he was extremely worried that he could have possibly been charged with a crime he was unaware of and placed into the court system. However, he said that he was thankful for the support from his relatives and neighbours which led to his release.
Meanwhile, Commander of Region Six Shivpersaud Bacchus yesterday morning said that they received reports of the protest, and on arriving at the location he was told of the reason behind it.
“We intervened and we looked at the circumstances and so forth and we talked to the leader of the gathering and they come to a conclusion where they move to the Whim Police Station, where they are sorting the situation,” he said.
Bacchus then advised that people who believed their relatives were being “wronged by the police” should visit his office and lodge a report.
