A miner was moments ago remanded to prison for a multi-million dollar armed robbery which occurred nearly six years ago in the North West Magisterial District.
Kenrick Blades, 57, of Bachelor’s Adventure, East Coast Demerara, appeared before Acting Chief Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
It is alleged that on October 16, 2013 at Lime Tree Backdam, North West District, while being in the company of another and armed with a gun, Blades robbed Asif Mohamed of one radio valued at $400,000, a 12 gauge shotgun valued at $145,000, $1.7M worth in goods, and three ounces of gold valued at $954,000. The items were the property of Mohamed.
An unrepresented Blades pleaded not guilty to the charge after it was read to him.
While the court prosecutor was unable to relate the facts surrounding the robbery, he asked the court to remand Blades to prison on the grounds that since the offence was committed the defendant had fled to another area. The prosecutor also highlighted the serious nature of the offence and the penalty the charge attracts. The prosecutor added that it was only on May 26 of this year that the defendant was arrested.
He further said that an identification parade was conducted and Blades was positively identified by the victim as the person who committed the robbery.
Blades, who asked the court to grant bail, questioned, “All them police know me so how it tek them six years to find me?” He continued, “This is a fabrication because I can’t hide from the police; they all know my name and face.”
The magistrate, after listening to both sides, remanded the father of seven to prison and instructed him to make his next court appearance on June 4, 2019 for reports.
