Security officer slapped with 2 counts of armed robbery

Forty-year-old Devon Holder also called “Day and Night”, a security officer of Samaroo Dam, Pouderoyen, West Bank Demerara (WBD), was on Monday slapped with two counts of armed robbery when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

The first allegation read to him by Magistrate Rhondell Weever stated that, on November 27, 2023, at Cornhill Street, Georgetown, he robbed Shania De Freitas of a gold chain valued at $216,000 and a Samsung Galaxy S21 valued at $98,000.
That charge further stated that immediately before or after the robbery, he made use of personal violence towards the woman.
It is further alleged that on November 28, 2023, at Stabroek, Georgetown, while armed with a knife, he robbed Sylwattie Sukhoo of a gold chain worth $80,000. Holder told the court that he works at Hoosein Security.
He was not represented by a lawyer.
In her address to the court, the Police prosecutor said that Holder committed both crimes while wearing the company’s uniform for security officers.
The prosecutor alluded to the seriousness and gravity of the offences in addition to the value of the stolen items to argue against the defendant being admitted to bail.
Noting that the virtual complainants are fearful for their lives, the prosecutor requested that Holder be kept on remand.
Holder told the presiding Magistrate during his court appearance that he could not have committed the robberies because he was at work when the Police alleged the offences happened.
He stated that the Police picked him up at his home. He claimed that Police officers forced him to sign a statement and prevented him from making contact with his family members while he was detained in the Police lock-ups.
According to the prosecutor, De Freitas gave investigating ranks a description of the man who robbed her, telling them that he was a tall, slim-built, African descent man with plaited hair.
The virtual complainant, according to the prosecutor, told detectives that the perpetrator was dressed in a Hoosein Security uniform. In the end, Holder was granted $60,000 bail on each of the two charges, totalling $120,000.
Starting on December 15, 2023, he will have to report to the Brickdam Police Station every two weeks in keeping with the conditions of his bail. This matter will come up again on January 15, 2024, for report.