Deception accused granted bail as charges near 100

The Peniston man who has been slapped with almost 100 charges of deception was granted EC$180,000 bail on Friday.

Tedroy McCree, 31, secured bail on a day that a further nine deception charges were read to him at the Serious Offences Court in Kingstown.

The charges are that by deception, he dishonestly obtained various sums of cash from persons across the country with the intention of permanently depriving them of the money.

On Friday, the total sum he reportedly dishonestly obtained from five persons was EC$6,590 and US$80.

He was not required to plead to the indictable charges.

McCree allegedly obtained tens of thousands of dollars of various currencies, namely Eastern Caribbean Dollars, United States dollars and Euros, in an alleged scam in which he reportedly took money from persons, telling them that he would secure employment for them in the cruise industry.

In the bail review hearing, Adolphus Delplesche, Senior Prosecutor in the National Prosecution Service, noted to Chief Magistrate Rechanne Browne-Matthias that the number of charges against the accused was nearly 100, even as eight more are expected to be laid against him.

Delplesche told the court that the Crown was not opposing bail anymore.

He, however, asked for a sufficiency of surety, that McCree surrender all his travel documents, including his driver’s license, that he report to police seven days a week and not be allowed to change his address without the express permission of the Serious Offences Court or a court of higher jurisdiction.

The prosecutor also asked that McCree not be allowed to have any contact with the virtual complainants and that he must be granted permission by the Serious Offences Court or a court of higher jurisdiction before he can leave the state.

Defence counsel, Israel Bruce, said he was “in sync” with all but one of the bail conditions: that his client report to police seven days a week.

Bruce disagreed with this, saying that this can be buttressed by stop notices and suggested that his client be made to report to police three days a week.

Chief Magistrate Rechanne-Browne Matthias said she was not minded to have McCree report to police seven days a week and said he should report to the Vermont Police Station Mondays to Fridays between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. until the matter is disposed of.

But Bruce asked the magistrate if she did not think five days a week was onerous in the circumstances and she said no.

The magistrate set bail at EC$180,000 with one surety, and, in addition to the prosecutor’s requests, ordered that stop notices be posted at all ports of exit.

The next hearing in the matter is slated for Jan. 17, 2017.

No one had come to bail McCree when the court adjourned about midday Friday and he was returned to lock-up.