Twenty-one-year old Rivaldo Vieira; Kevin Smith, 17; and Elijah James, 20; appeared before Chief Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus at the Georgetown Magis-trate’s Court yesterday where they were charged with a series of robberies committed on January 14.
It is alleged that on January 14, at America and Longden streets in Georgetown, the trio robbed Dulce Singh of a cellphone valued $40,000 and $5,000 cash, and Josa Sookra of $45,000 and a wallet valued $3,000. It is also alleged that they robbed Rawle Singh of one cellphone valued $35,000 and $4,500 cash, and Daniel Kishoor of $7200.
Vieira, Smith, and James, all plead not guilty to the charges.
The prosecutor objected to bail over the seriousness and prevalence of the offence. He also informed the court that the stolen articles were found in the possession of James in his crotch area, and that several other similar reports and charges are currently before James in other courts.
The court also heard that Vieira and Smith were identified by James, leading the police to suspect that they may have had a falling out
Meanwhile, James disrupted the court with his continuous protestations, disobeying Magistrate Isaacs-Marcus’ instructions to keep quiet. James has served time in prison. He was incarcerated for three months for simple larceny and four months for assault and was released in December of last year.
In a surprising turn of events, the prosecution was informed that the other two defendants, Vieira and Smith, were positively identified by one of the complainants as the boys who robbed him.
This has prompted the need for a review of 17-year-old Smith’s birth certificate and as a result the case was stood down until Thursday after the relevant documents would have been produced and examined by the courts.
