PGS security officer accused of stealing gun, ammo gets $150K bail

Security officer Horace Thomside appeared on Wednesday before Chief Magistrate (ag) Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts charged with stealing a Taurus .38 revolver and five live rounds of matching ammunition, property of Professional Guard Service (PGS), with whom he was employed as a security officer.

Represented by legal counsel, the 23-year-old defendant entered a not-guilty plea to the charge, and defence attorney requested that the Magistrate grant his client reasonable bail due to his mental state.
The lawyer told the Chief Magistrate that his client is willing to abide by any condition imposed by bail.
And while the lawyer did not offer any evidence in support of his client’s mental state, a probation official disclosed that the accused had undergone mental health treatment. According to the Probation officer, Thomside told her that he had stolen the gun to protect himself because he had felt threatened.
The Police prosecutor opposed Thomside’s release on bail, pointing out the gravity and prevalence of the crime, the discovery of the gun under his bed, and Thomside’s admission to the Police that he had taken the firearm. However, the Chief Magistrate overruled those objections by saying that prison might not be the best place for Thomside, given his mental health.
In the end, the defendant, a Charlestown, Georgetown resident, was granted $150,000 bail with the condition that he must receive therapy at the mental health clinic at the Georgetown Public Hospital, and report to the Kitty Police Station once every two weeks while his trial is pending.
The Chief Magistrate was reassured by Thomside’s father that he would make sure his son follows the court’s orders. This case has been postponed until January 2024.

Background to this case
It has been reported that Alton Mars, a driver with the Professional Guard Service, had reportedly signed and collected eight .38 revolvers and two shotguns from the company’s duty officer last Friday, and had placed them under the mat in the front passenger seat of the motor car he was driving.
He then proceeded to Pradoville at Ogle, East Coast Demerara (ECD), where he picked up Horace Thomside of Adelaide Street, Charlestown to take him to his workstation at Saffon Street, Charlestown; but instead, he ended up at Case Diamond, located on East Street, Georgetown, where he issued a .38 revolver to a guard on duty.
He and Thomside then travelled to the New Building Society (NBS) and Caribbean Airlines on Avenue of the Republic in Georgetown, where again he issued one revolver each to the guards on duty at the two sites. The driver then drove to Saffon and Broad Streets, Georgetown, where he dropped off Thomside and issued him with a .38 revolver.
According to the Police, Mars then went to another site, this time in Agricola, Greater Georgetown, to issue another .38 to a guard; but on checking, he discovered that a .38 revolver and five rounds of ammunition were missing. As such, he immediately contacted the duty officer and informed her of the missing firearm.
This prompted a probe, during which several checks were made at the various worksites where Mars had made drop-offs during the morning session, but the firearm and ammunition were not located.
The matter was reported to the Police, thus resulting in the arrest of both the driver and Thomside the following day. During interrogation, Thomside admitted to stealing the firearm and hiding it under his bed.
He reportedly took the Police to his home in Charlestown, where the firearm and five matching rounds of ammunition were found wrapped in a sock hidden under the bed.