Man remanded on multiple robbery-under-arms charges

– as defence claims police brutality; Magistrate notes defendant currently on bail for separate 2024 offence

Isaiah Griffith, a 21-year-old labourer of Bent Street, Georgetown, has been remanded to prison after he was denied bail on Wednesday during his arraignment before Acting Chief Magistrate Faith McGusty in her Georgetowncourt on five counts of robbery-under-arms.

One charge alleges that on December 17, 2024, while in the company of another and while being armed with a gun, he robbed Alfred Chinos of an iPhone valued at $220,000.
Another charge alleges that on the same day, at Robb Street, he robbed Angel McKenzie of $340,000 in cash while being similarly armed.
A third charge alleges that on Sunday, January 26, 2025, at Werk-en-Rust, while armed with a knife, he robbed Zhao Fengzhi of a Samsung Galaxy phone.
The fourth charge alleges that on the same day, at George Street, Werk-en-Rust, he robbed Jiang Ji Liang of a Redmi cellphone valued at $62,000.
The fifth charge alleges that he robbed Jin Bo Hu of $334,800 while armed with a knife.
Requesting reasonable bail for her client, Defence attorney Stacy Goodings argued that he has a fixed place of residence, and she raised allegations of police brutality by claiming that, during his arrest, after he had denied involvement in the crimes, Griffith had been punched in the mouth and stomach by officers.
However, the prosecutor objected to Griffith being placed on bail by citing the severity of the offences, the risk of witness tampering, and CCTV footage allegedly placing him at a business premises owned by one of the victims. Further, the prosecutor revealed that the business manager had been consulted, adding to the case against Griffith.
The prosecutor also requested that Griffith be subjected to medical examination and further investigation be made in regard to the claims he had made about police brutality.
When Magistrate McGusty questioned why this had not been done earlier, given the available time, the delay was attributed to the brief suspension of court sessions, which also explained why the accused had been held for longer than 72 hours — an issue that had also been raised by his lawyer.
After considering the prosecution’s concerns, Magistrate McGusty ruled against placing Griffith on bail, stating that the court must take witness tampering risks and the severity of the charges into account. She also noted that these acts of robbery were committed while Griffith was on bail for a previous offence committed in 2024. Griffith’s cases have thus been adjourned to February 19.
In July last year, Griffith and three others were charged in connection with firearms and ammunition found at Cotton Tree, West Coast Berbice on June 12, 2024, when police arrested him along with Winston Julian Mendonca, Patrick Roach and Shakeel Lawrence for allegedly being found with a .32 Taurus pistol and one round of .32 live ammunition.
These four men were jointly charged in July 2024 with possession of a firearm without being a licence holder, and with possession of ammunition without license. When they appeared before Weldaad Magistrate Ravindra Mohabir, they were remanded, and the case was transferred to the Blairmont’s Magistrate’s Court.
Griffith was later granted bail at the Blairmont Magistrate’s Court, allowing him to remain free until this latest arrest.