Trio charged over $58M gold heist

From Left are Keyon King, Delroy and Peon Lee.

Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Sergeant Keyon King and two security guards have been remanded to prison over last week’s $58 million Wallison Enterprise gold heist at Kitty.

Four charges were read to King, 32, and Delroy Jackson, 37, and Peon Lee, 35, when they appeared before Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus this morning. Jackson and Lee both worked as security guards at Wallison Enterprise.

It is alleged that the three men, while being armed with guns, robbed Francis Santos Lumes of $38 million in cash and 60 ounces of raw gold worh $20 million. They are also charged with robbing Lumes of a $140,000 gold chain, a $60,000 ring and $14,000 in cash.

Additionally, they are charged with robbing cashier Fernanda Carmicheal of an iPhone, worth $350,000, and goldsmith William Batista Dasilva of a $60,000 phone.

The unrepresented King initially pleaded guilty to the first charge and denied the others, while his co-accused both pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.

However, following an adjournment, King told the court at what was intended to be his sentencing hearing that he changed his plea because he did not have an attorney.

All three men are now due to return to court on August 24 for their next hearing.

Police had said that the bandits entered the Wallison Enterprise compound under the pretense of going to sell gold. Once inside the building, they held two employees, the 20-year-old cashier and the 45-year-old goldsmith, at gunpoint and ordered them to the safe, which contained the valuables.