Man charged over Grove robbery, other crimes

The bandit who was shot in his eye by police after he was caught on the scene of a robbery in Grove two weeks ago has been slapped with five charges and remanded to prison.

Dondre Forde, 21, of Lot 3414 Stevedore Housing Scheme, appeared before Magistrate Alex Moore on Friday at the Providence Magistrate’s Court to answer the charges.

The first charge stated that Forde, along with another and armed with a gun, robbed Cheryl Embrack of an undisclosed quantity of gold jewellery, a cellular phone and a stereo set on December 13, at her Grove Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara home. He was also accused of robbing Colin Semple and his sister of two cellular phones, valued at $51,000, on the same day.

Forde was also accused of having an illegal .32 pistol in his possession and 10 matching live rounds while not being the holder of a firearm licence.

He was also charged with discharging a loaded firearm at policeman, Arlington Samuels, with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Stabroek News had reported that while Embrack was entering her home on December 13, she was confronted by two men, one who was armed with a gun. They took her upstairs and packed several bags of jewellery, cash, and a stereo set. One of the bandits then subsequently left with one of the bags and the other, Forde, took her back to her bedroom and demanded cash. At this point in time the police had responded to a robbery report from nearby residents. After Forde noticed the police vehicles, he rushed outside and opened fire. After the police returned fire he was hit to his eye and leg and was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital where it was discovered that he would lose sight in his left eye.

The last charge stated that on November 20, Forde held Dracaena Melville at gunpoint and stole all her gold jewellery, a cellular phone, and cash amounting to a total of $845,000, at Golden Grove.

The prosecution objected to bail based on the seriousness of the matter and the fact that the gun that was recovered from the scene was allegedly used in several other robberies.

Forde was subsequently remanded to prison by Magistrate Moore. His next court date is January 25, 2016.