South Rivers robbery accused denied bail  

The five people charged with attempted murder, robbery, and firearm offences in connection with the attempted robbery of the GECCU branch in South Rivers on Tuesday have been denied bail.

Senior Magistrate Colin John, sitting at the Serious Offences Court, on Friday, granted an application by the prosecution and ordered that the accused — four men and one woman — be remanded in prison until July 29.
The accused are: Erasto Dasilva, a 33-year-old bartender, of Canouan; Lemar Isaacs aka Chak, 23, unemployed, of McKies Hill; Esroy Jeffers, a 28-year-old painter, of Layou; Rakiesha Joseph aka Bim Bim, 26 unemployed, of Layou; and Sharome Dopwell, of Paul’s Avenue.

They were not allowed to plead to indictable charges that on July, 16, at South Rivers, they:

• with intent to commit the offence of murder on Joron Samuel, of South Rivers, did an act which is more than merely preparatory to the commission of the offence;
• had in their possession one black Millennium G2 9mm pistol without a license issued under the Firearms Act;
• had in your possession eight rounds of 9mm ammunition without a license issued under the Firearms Act;
• did use a firearm to aid in the commission of an offence to wit robbery;
• without lawful excuse damaged two metal and glass doors valued at EC$2,800, one deadbolt lock valued at EC$270, one skylight valued at EC$300, the property of the General Employees Cooperative Credit Union and was reckless as to whether such property would be damaged; and,
• being armed with a gun robbed Charissa Pitt of Georgetown of one brown Land ladies purse with personal items valued at EC$250 and at the time of doing so and in order to do so put the said Charissa Pitt in fear of being there and then subjected to force.

Prosecutor Inspector Renrick Cato said that the prosecution was objecting to bail and asked that the accused be remanded for a week.

He said he was aware that the offences were bailable and bail is of right. 

The prosecutor, however, said that the same law that provides bail as a right also set out the circumstances in which an accused person could be remanded in custody. 

Cato said that the allegations were serious and the police were still investigating the matters.

He said it was alleged that two or more firearms were used in the commission of the offences but only one has been recovered.

“We are fearful that if the accused are granted bail they would hinder or obstruct the investigation,” he said.

The prosecutor said that remanding the accused until Thursday would give the police time to conclude their investigation, adding that he would not be asking then that the accused be further remanded.

However, Connell, who represented Dopwell, Isaccs and Jeffers said that he was asking for bail on behalf of the five accused, including the two who were unrepresented. 

The defence counsel said that the prosecution’s application was bordering an oxymoron.

Connell agreed that the offences are serious, adding, “so is manslaughter where there is a loss of life and an investigation goes on for months. 

He said the first ground of the prosecution’s application to deny bail rebutted common sense. 

The lawyer said the prosecution was asking the court to allow investigators time to continue “a fishing expedition”.

“He is asking that the matters come back next week. Would the investigation still be going on then?” the lawyer said rhetorically. 

“Is there any charge for the alleged discharge of a firearm? Does the police have to have physical possession of a firearm to bring a charge?”

Connell said the second ground of the prosecution’s application to deny bail was not one that could “catapult the court into overriding their right to bail”, noting that Cato had argued that granting bail could hinder the investigation.

The lawyer said he would never say that the third ground of Cato’s application did not make sense, adding that he would rather say that it “does not meet the criteria. 

“The only reason to remand them is to strap the state with an obligation to feed them for a week,” Connell said.

He said that Cato did not say that the defendants were a flight risk, would not attend court, do not have significant ties to the jurisdiction, or do not have sufficient surety to fulfill their obligation to the court.

He further said that Cato did not ask for the imposition of a curfew, reporting conditions, or stop notices to ensure that the accused remain in the state.

“Has the prosecution looked at the condition of the accused? Is his application fair, looking at what, prima facie appears to be a man with a broken right hand and, patched head, cut to the feet,” Connel said, referring to Dopwell who had bandages about his body. 

“Has he sought medical attention as yet?” Connel was saying when Cato said that the lawyer should not mislead the court.

Connell, however, said that he acts on instructions, adding that Dopwell had said that he had seen a doctor who told him to come back in a few days.

The lawyer said his client was yet to get a CT scan.

“Is he bleeding internally as a result of the blows he got?” the lawyer said.

But Cato objected, saying that Connell was giving evidence from the bar table.

But Connell asked whether his submission had any nexus between the injuries and human beings.

“What if he fell down?” the lawyer said. 

“We have not seen any charge with loss of life or loss of blood. What we see before you, the defendants have seemingly suffered numerous injuries,” the lawyer told the court, adding that it would be ludicrous to entertain the prosecution’s application. 

He said there was a reason why bail measures have strict conditions, noting that the accused are innocent until proven guilty.

“Mr. Dopwell is in dire need to see a doctor,” Connell said, adding that he was only speaking about one of the accused and pointed out that the left side of Isaacs’ face appeared to be swollen.

He asked that the men be granted bail and that the court ask for sufficient surety, order that they surrender their travel documents, impose reporting conditions and a curfew.

“There is a reason why we have a legal system. It is not the wild, wild west. These acts of savagery, you will see when certain things unfold are not confined to people who are part of certain institutions,” Connell said. 

He said the charges did not block, automatically, the granting of bail.

“The mere fact that he has asked that they come back next week is a manifestation of what is in his subconscious,” he said of Cato, adding that the prosecutor can act based on the instructions of his superiors.

“I am dealing with the law, nothing else. I don’t make the law, I don’t break the law, I can’t change the law, I am just a practitioner of the law and I am asking the court to follow the law,” Connell said.

However, the magistrate denied bail and ordered that the defendants who are alleged to be injured be taken to the hospital for medical attention.

Connell said that is why he was seeking bail, adding that the accused had to go to a private institution.
John said he thinks there are sufficient mechanisms in the government system and those who want to go to a private medical facility can be escorted there. 

There was heavy police presence and scores of onlookers outside the court where two men on separate murder charges also appeared on Friday.