Steven Piggott, charged with two counts of armed robbery, was remanded to prison on Thursday at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, which heard that he returned stolen articles to one of the victims after realising he knew her.
It is alleged that on September 22 at Georgetown, being armed with a knife, Piggott robbed Sean Remiah of a quantity of jewellery, cash and other items, valued $426,000.
It was also alleged that Piggott robbed Abina Jagdoo of a quantity of jewellery, cash, a Blackberry cellular phone and other items, valued $350,000.
Prosecutor Stephen Telford, in detailing the police’s case to acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry, said that on the day in question at approximately 1:30 am, Remiah and Jagdoo were driving when three men, one of whom was Piggott, stood in front of their car. Remiah, the driver, stopped, according to Telford, who said Piggott then pulled out a knife and carried out the robbery. Telford added that after the robbery, Piggott realized that he knew Jagdoo and returned the items he had stolen from her.
However, attorney Adrian Thompson, who represented Piggott, told the court that his client never committed the robbery and was not such a character. Thompson contended that the police should have placed Piggott on an identification parade and, saying that they failed to take this step, he called the charges baseless.
Thompson asked for reasonable bail. Telford had no objection to the accused being granted bail but asked that the sum be substantial. In granting bail, Telford said the court needed to take into consideration the seriousness and prevalence of the offence. He said too that Piggott has cases pending for similar offences.
The magistrate subsequently denied bail and remanded Piggott to prison. The matter was transferred to Court Five and is to be called on October 5 for statements.
