RK guard fingered in alleged staged robbery charged with gun, ammo theft

One of the RK Security Service guards who it was alleged staged a robbery in which a quantity of cash as well as revolvers and rounds of ammunition were stolen, appeared before a city court yesterday after another gun and matching rounds were reportedly found at his house.

The charge against Damion Pearce stated that between March 24 and May 25, at Georgetown, he stole a .32 revolver valued $150,800 and five .32 live rounds of ammunition worth $630, total value being $151,430, property of RK Security Service. Pearce pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The court was told by Prosecutor Deniro Jones that the gun and ammunition were unearthed at the man’s home during police investigations, while he was on remand over previous charges. The search was reportedly conducted in the presence of Pearce’s wife, and Jones related that the accused had admitted to stealing the firearm.

 Damion Pearce
Damion Pearce

The prosecutor objected to bail and same was denied by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan, who remanded Pearce to prison until June 29.

On May 31, Pearce, 35, of A Field Sophia Squatting Area, his wife Eulesie Stephens and his colleague Cleveland Pyle, 53, of 337 Number 9 Village, West Coast Berbice, were charged with stealing $4,356,500, being the property of Courts, $3,000,000, which was the property of S and S Supermarket and $148,840, which was the property of Church’s Chicken, as well as a .32 revolver and ten .32 rounds of ammunition that were the property of RK’s Security Services.

The court of Magistrate Zamilla Ally-Seepaul heard that they committed the theft on May 23, at Le Ressouvenir, East Coast Demerara.

The three were not required to plead to the charge.

Pearce was also separately charged with being in possession of a .32 revolver as well as five .32 rounds of ammunition, without being the holder of a firearm licence, on May 25, at Sophia. He pleaded not guilty to the two charges when they were also read to him.

It was initially claimed that Pearce was shot when he and Pyle were ambushed by a lone gunman while making a deposit at Demerara Bank’s Le Ressouvenir, East Coast Demerara branch. However, police subsequently said that they staged the robbery.

Police Prosecutors David Goodridge and Ayesha Gibbons, who objected to bail, stated that Pearce and Pyle went to uplift monies from the business places to take to Demerara Bank.

According to Goodridge and Gibbons, Stephens joined the two security guards en route to the bank and she collected some of the cash and the gun and took them to her residence at Sophia. Stephens buried the items at the back of her yard, they alleged.

The prosecution said investigations were carried out as it was reported that the robbery was staged and Pearce being shot was part of the plan.

The prosecution also said that Stephens took police to her yard, where she dug up the money and the gun and presented them to the police.