Accused phone thieves remanded

Two men on Monday appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts where they were remanded for an armed robbery charge.
Jermaine Grenville, 23, Lot of 344 Section B Pattensen, Turkeyen, and Alvin Archer, 27, appeared before Magistrate Sherdell Isaacs-Marcus after they were jointly charged.
It is alleged that on March 18, at Dowding Street, Georgetown, while being armed with a pair of scissors, they robbed Terence Bouyeau of one Samsung J2 prime cellphone valued $30,000 along with one memory card valued $2000 and a Digicel SIM card valued $2000.
Archer pleaded not guilty to the charge, while Grenville pleaded guilty with an explanation.
Grenville told the court that he currently resides with his mother, but is facing financial difficulties. He explained that due to his age, his mother does not cook for him, and as such he is often hungry and cannot afford to purchase food daily.
In pleading for bail on his own behalf, Grenville claimed that his construction job is unable to sustain him and after being under “pressure” for some time he started following “bad company” and executed the robbery. He further pleaded with Magistrate Isaacs-Marcus for bail and leniency.
“Your Worship, the lock-up is not a nice place, I don’t want to go back” he pleaded.
Meanwhile, the Police prosecutor stated that Jermaine has known the Virtual Complaint (VC) for the past four years but they are not on speaking terms. He noted that the victim is a truck driver who operates from Georgetown to Linden.
He said that as the VC was on his way home, he was approached by the suspects, who were armed with scissors. Archer reportedly dealt the VC two stabs while Grenville allegedly relieved him of his cellphone.
The VC alerted a Police patrol that was nearby and the ranks were able to apprehend both of the suspects.
They were then searched and the cellphone was allegedly found on Grenville’s person.
Additionally, the prosecutor noted that Archer has another active matter, which is larceny on a person, before the court, and that the victim was injured during the robbery. It was on these grounds he objected to bail.
The duo is expected to make their next court appearance on April 19. (G15)