Kaieteur News’ robbery: 2 ex-employees among 7 remanded to prison

Two former employees of Kaieteur News were among seven men remanded to prison on Friday for a robbery at the newspaper’s Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown office.

Joshua Junor, 35, a security officer of Middle Street, La Penitence, Georgetown, and Ryan Wharton, 33, a Research Assistant, of Canary Street, Tucville, Georgetown, both former employees of Kaieteur News; Lemuel Grant, 23, a clerk, of Russell Street, Charlestown, Georgetown; 36-year-old Harry Stongster of Hyde Park, Timehri, East Bank Demerara (EBD) and Ivor Belingie called “Wild Life” appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
The joint charge read to them stated that between October 9 and 10 at Lot 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, while being armed with a gun, they robbed Kaieteur News owned by Glenn Lall of $38.8 million in cash, a Republic Bank cheque valued at $9.1 million, US$9360, a .32 Taurus pistol and ammunition valued at $515,000, a firearm case valued at $25,000, six magazines valued at $60,000, among other items.
They were also charged with robbing Noel Junior of $5000 and Wayne Little of a cellular phone worth $44,000. After pleading not guilty to the charges, the men were remanded to prison until November 10 by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan, who in justifying her decision to remand them, cited the serious nature of the offence and the public’s safety.
Grant was represented by lawyer Eusi Anderson, who submitted that the only part his client played in the commissioning of the crime, was lending his motor car to Wharton, who is his cousin, unknowing that he was going to use the car to commit a crime.
According to him, at the time of the robbery, his client was at a popular bar, and CCTV footage from the establishment will be presented to support his alibi.
Collis Heywood and Kevin France, on the other hand, were separately charged for the unlawful possession of guns and ammunition. The two charges read to Heywood, a 40-year-old chef, of Lot R2-578 Canary Street, Tucville, Georgetown, stated that on October 10 at Georgetown, he had a .32 ammunition and 210 matching rounds in his possession, when he was not the holder of a firearm licence enforced at the time.
Meanwhile, France, 35, a taxi driver of East Ruimveldt, Georgetown, was accused of having a 9mm pistol along with 10 matching rounds in his possession when he was not the holder of a firearm licence enforced at the time, on the said date at his home. The pair pleaded not guilty to the charges and were remanded to prison until November 9.
Police Prosecutor Neville Jeffers told the court that investigations revealed that the robbery was planned a week prior by Wharton, the mastermind.
According to the prosecutor, a probe into the robbery led to the arrest of Heywood and France—both of whom were found with the company firearm in their possession.

Background
Guyana Times had previously reported that three bandits walked into Kaieteur News and held three of its employees at gunpoint, before carting off millions of dollars in cash.
Wharton, who had previously worked with the company as a Research Assistant, was arrested on Monday and confessed to plotting the armed robbery.
He implicated Joshua Junor, who at the time of the robbery, was one of the company’s on-duty security guards. Joshua Junor was the security officer that was seen on CCTV footage of the robbery, being held at gunpoint and forced into a room at the company.
Wharton told investigators that while he used to work with Kaieteur News in 2021, he became friends with Joshua Junor. After he left the job, he admitted that he told Joshua Junor that they could “thief money” from Kaieteur News and he reportedly agreed.
However, on Sunday last, at about 11:00h, Wharton said Joshua Junor went to his home with his motor car, along with another man, Belingie and they planned the robbery.
Wharton admitted to cops that he asked Belingie if he had a gun and Belingie responded in the negative. He said he then told Belingie that he would provide him with a gun and that they would rob Kaieteur News and they all agreed.
Joshua Junor and Wharton then left, after which he called a friend, Stongster on his cell phone and told him about the plan to rob Kaieteur News and Stongster agreed to go with them. Police also stated that Wharton said he called his cousin, Grant, and asked him to borrow his Toyota Spacio motor car and he lent him the vehicle.
Wharton said he proceeded to change the number plate on Grant’s vehicle and replaced it with a fake number plate HC 5152. At about 23:00h, Stongster went to his home with the motor car and Wharton gave Harry a phone number for Belingie and told him to call Belingie and pick him up at Back Circle in East Ruimveldt, Georgetown, which Harry did.
Shortly after, Stongster returned with Belingie, whom he gave his unlicensed 9mm pistol and they proceeded to Kaieteur News, in the Spacio vehicle which Wharton drove.
On arrival, Belingie held Joshua Junor, the security officer, and two others at gunpoint, as they had planned, while Wharton and Harry went up to the Accounts Department where he knew the safe was located. The men claimed that they pushed open the office door, and broke off a padlock on a desk drawer. Wharton along with Harry then lifted out the safe which was under a desk and put it in the back seat of Grant’s car.
Then, he along with Harry and Belingie drove to his home, where they opened the safe, and removed a large sum of cash, a firearm, ammunition, one holster, magazines, and firearm hand grips. They then divided the money into four. Belingie collected Joshua Junor’s share on his behalf and the men proceeded to burn the clothes they used to conduct the robbery. Stongster and Belingie then left Wharton’s home and threw away the empty safe in a trench at Cane View Avenue, South Ruimveldt Gardens, Georgetown.
Wharton then took his share of the loot and handed it over to his child’s mother, a Policewoman, for safe keeping and told her that he had won the cash while playing a Superbet game. Wharton also placed the gun and ammunition removed from the safe along with the gun used in the robbery, firearm grips, and holster into a haversack and gave them to his friend, Heywood, at Tucville, Georgetown. Police recovered over $6 million of the stolen cash, the stolen pistol and ammunition, the broken safe, and the car used in the robbery. From the outset, Lall had asserted that the robbery was an “inside job”.