(Trinidad Express) The two alleged gangsters captured last week at the Hyatt Regency hotel, Port of Spain, along with 21 other suspected gang members, appeared in court yesterday, all claiming innocence of the charges levelled against them.
Cedric “Burkie” Burke, 36, was charged with being the leader of a gang, while Keon “Baine” Bain, 31, was charged with being a gang member.
They were charged by PC Nobel Smith after officers attached to the Port of Spain Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested them while they were allegedly hiding out at the Hyatt on August 26.
Burke and Bain were nabbed by police around 11.30 a.m. on Friday in a room at the Waterfront hotel.
Karen Hall, a 26-year-old San Juan woman, who, according to police, claimed to be the men’s secretary, was also detained at the hotel.
She was subsequently released after being interviewed by Port of Spain CID officers.
The two men, who paid in cash for their stay at the hotel, reportedly exchanged rooms often.
They had initially checked in on August 23, two days after Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar announced a state of emergency in the country.
Burke’s attorney Kirk Hogan told Chief Magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar that his client was a registered contractor who had secured a contract with the National Community for Self-Help.
The $300,000 contract, which falls under the Ministry of Community Development, was awarded on August 23, the day the men checked into the hotel and was signed by Reynold Baldeosingh.
Hogan said that his client, of Production Avenue, Sea Lots, had to give up another lucrative contract because he was arrested.
Bain, of Third Street, Maraval, was represented by defence attorneys Fitzgerald Hinds, Wayne Sturge and Mario Merritt.
Hinds, who spoke on behalf of the attorneys, asked for all the relevant disclosure, including size and characteristics of the gang.
He requested that the matter begin as soon as possible. Both men will reappear in court on September 20.
