Two miners were on Monday each granted $200,000 bail after pleading not guilty to stealing a $3.5 million All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV).
Mark Smith, 31, of Mocha, East Bank Demerara and Rollin Patrick, 20, of Charity, appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan, who read the charge to them. It is alleged that on December 9th, 2019, at Essequibo, while armed with a cutlass and piece of wood wood, the two robbed Claudio Da Silva of the ATV. They both denied the charge. Police prosecutor Gordon Mansfield told the court that on the day in question, Da Silva was riding his ATV on the way to a mining camp when he was forced to slow down at a trail. It is alleged that at this point the two defendants came out of the bushes and dealt him several lashes with the cutlass and wood, relieved him of his ATV and then made good their escape. The matter was reported to the Mahdia Police Station and after an investigation was carried out, the defendants were positively identified by Da Silva, hence the men were arrested and charged. The magistrate, after listening to the allegations, granted the men $200,000 bail each and transferred the matter to the Mahdia Magistrate’s Court for January 14th, 2020.
