Accused snatcher tells court he was not fingered in ID parade

A man alleged to have stolen one gold chain from the person of another was yesterday remanded to prison when he appeared before acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

The allegation is that on September 26 at Georgetown, Gregory Howes stole from the person of Tarreck Chand one gold chain valued $60,000, property of the said Tarreck Chand.

The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charge of larceny from the person when it was read to him by the acting chief magistrate.

Prosecutor Stephen Telford in his address to the court said that on the day in question, the virtual complainant (VC) was sitting in his parked vehicle when the accused passed by and snatched the chain from his neck.

The prosecution objected to the defendant being granted his pretrial liberty on the grounds that Howes has several pending matters in court for charges of a similar nature.

The defendant who requested a chance to speak told the court that he has no knowledge of the offence. Visibly angry, he said too that when placed on an identification (ID) parade, he was not fingered by the complainant as the perpetrator.

The accused went on to say that he was then placed on a second ID parade where a senior police officer told the VC to identify him as the perpetrator.

The unrepresented Howes was later remanded to prison. He was ordered to return to court on October 6 for statements.