Magistrate Priya Beharry yesterday placed a man on bail in the sum of $75,000 when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court for allegedly snatching a woman’s gold band.
Forty-one-year-old Mark Johnson had pleaded not guilty to the charge of larceny from the person.
He denied that on July 31, he stole a gold band valued $100,000 from Jenny Sahadeo.
His lawyer Paul Fung-a-Fat stated that Johnson had been in police custody for five days which exceeds the legal 72 hours detention period without being charged.
He said that on the day in question his client had just come out of Swiss House Cambio when the police held on to him and accused him of snatching a woman’s gold band. He said that his client had $12,000 on him when he was taken into police custody.
The lawyer said that this was a case of mistaken identity since the band was never found on his client’s person and that the police did not conduct an Identification Parade (ID) with his client.
His also said that his client is not a flight risk and has no previous convictions in the courts.
However, Prosecutor Stephen Telford stated that on the day in question Sahadeo was walking north along Water Street when Johnson approached her from behind and snatched the gold band that she was wearing on her left hand.
He said that Sahadeo raised an alarm and several policemen who were in the area at the time gave chase after Johnson who was fleeing the scene of the incident and apprehended him.
The magistrate then transferred the case to Court three for September 6.
Thirty-three-year-old Howard Nelson of Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, was also placed on $75,000 bail when he appeared before magistrate Beharry after he pleaded not guilty to a similar charge.
He denied that on July 31, he stole a cricket band valued $75,000 from Amanda Khemraj.
Fung-a-Fat, who also represented Nelson, stated that this was also a case of mistaken identity where just like Johnson, Nelson had just stepped out of Swiss House Cambio when the police held on to him and accused him of snatching a woman’s band.
He stated that here again the police conducted no ID parade and that nothing was found on his client’s person.
He noted that Nelson was previous charged in an unrelated matter but that that case was resolved.
The prosecution made no objections to that bail application and it was subsequently granted.
The matter was also transferred to Court Three for September 6.
