A young mason on a robbery charge was granted bail yesterday after giving an explanation for how he found himself before a city court.
It was alleged that on April 14th, at Seawall Road, Georgetown, Akeem Bennett stole a cellphone, valued $85,000, from Travis Ramphal.
Prosecutor Gordon Mansfield said Ramphal and Bennett were liming at the seawalls. While there, Ramphal sent Bennett to get a pack of cigarettes from his car but Bennett never returned. Ramphal then returned to his car and discovered his phone missing. After a report was made to the police, Mansfield said Bennett was arrested and admitted to stealing the phone. He added that the phone was not recovered.
Bennett initially pleaded guilty to the charge but after giving an explanation to Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan, a not guilty plea was entered on his behalf.
In his explanation, Bennett told the court that as he was waiting for a bus to go home from Grove, a random “taxi man” approached him and asked him if he wanted to drink. Bennett said he told the man that he does not drink much and was subsequently asked if he wanted to go to Georgetown and “pick up two girls.”
Bennett went on to say that he got into the car with Ramphal and they went to the seawall. He further related that Ramphal then gave him a gold chain and some money for safekeeping and since he was “keeping” everything for Ramphal, he decided to take the phone and placed it in his pocket without Ramphal’s permission. He said he took the phone from the car after he was sent to retrieve a pack of cigarettes for Ramphal. After he found no cigarettes, he said he went back to Ramphal and told him he would go “around the corner” to buy him a pack but before going Ramphal asked him to return the articles, which he did except for the phone. On his way to buy the cigarettes, Bennett added, four men approached him and robbed him of the phone and $1,000. He said he was scared to return to Ramphal after the robbery and so he fled and reported the matter to a guard at a police station. However, later in the night, Ramphal found him and took him to a police station, where he was arrested. Bennett also said that he admitted to stealing the phone.
Bennett was subsequently granted bail in the sum of $10,000 and the matter was adjourned until April 23rd.
