A 26-year-old man accused of attempting to commit a felony was yesterday placed on bail in the sum of $300,000 when he appeared before Magistrate Hazel Octive-Hamilton at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.
The allegation is that on August 4 at Georgetown, Jermaine De Freitas of 65 Castello Housing Scheme attempted to commit robbery under arms on Lenn Sue.
The accused was not required to plead to the indictable charge when it was read to him by the magistrate.
Attorney-at-Law Basil Williams who represented the defendant told the court that it should take note of the fact that the police officer or officers who attempted to arrest his client caused the defendant to sustain a broken arm because of the unnecessary force which they exerted.
He said also that the arrest came some one week after the “so called” robbery allegation was made. According to the attorney, his client had fallen prey to the unfortunate situation where police just “pick up young men on the streets and randomly slap charges on them.”
Williams who attempted to get into the details of the case was cautioned by the magistrate who told him, “Mr. Williams I am not hearing the case today.” She however entertained the attorney’s application for bail.
The lawyer applied for reasonable bail on the grounds that his client has no previous convictions, poses no risk of flight and has been cooperating with the police in their investigations.
Prosecutor Stephen Telford, however, objected to the bail application made by the attorney, stating that the offence is a serious and prevalent one.
The lawyer’s request was met and the defendant was subsequently granted bail in the sum of $300,000. Williams then made a further application for the bail to be reduced stating that the accused was not capable of paying that sum but this application was denied.
De Freitas was ordered to return to court on September 14 for reports.
