Annandale teen charged with attempted armed robbery

An 18-year-old mason from Annandale, East Coast Demerara, was on Tuesday charged with attempting to commit a felony, specifically robbery under arms, two years after he had accused police of burning him while in custody.
The teen, Jahiem Peters, was arrested on July 17 by a rank from the Enmore Police Station in relation to a robbery attempt committed two days earlier on Akeem Hubbard, a 29-year-old resident of the same village.
He appeared at the Vigilance Magistrate’s Courts before Magistrate Sunil Scarce, where the charge was read to him. Peters pleaded not guilty and was granted bail in the sum of $250,000. The matter was adjourned to September 16.
Peters is no stranger to the court system. In 2023, the teen filed a civil lawsuit against the Guyana Police Force and the Attorney General, claiming that he was set on fire by an officer while being held at the Vigilance Police Station.
According to his statement of claim, Peters alleged that he was tortured by a police officer who used a lighter to ignite his jersey and deliberately burnt him on his lower arm while he was handcuffed. The incident, he said, occurred during an effort by police to force a confession out of him.
Peters claimed he sustained severe multi-degree burns to his torso, back, and upper limbs, which resulted in him being hospitalised at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation’s Burn Care Unit. He reportedly underwent surgery, including skin grafts, and was left with permanent scarring and partial disability.
At the time, Peters was reportedly apprehended by police and taken into custody in relation to an armed robbery probe.
Through his attorney, Eusi Anderson, Peters argued that he had complied with all police instructions and never resisted arrest, describing the officer’s actions as “deliberate, wilful and reckless.”
He further stated that although he was a minor at the time, he was held in an adult facility, where he was allegedly interrogated without the presence of his parents.
The police, however, had provided a different version of events, suggesting that Peters had sustained the burns after lighting a cigarette while in the lockups. That version was flatly denied by Peters and his family, who insisted that he was tortured.
The civil suit is still ongoing. Meanwhile, Peters is now before the court once again, this time on an attempted robbery charge. Investigations are continuing.