No bail for suspects in Good Life supermarket robbery
-duo faces charges over other crimes
Shawn Thompson and Daniel Grant, the two Corentyne men who are accused of robbing the Good Life Supermarket on Tuesday evening, were yesterday remanded to prison after facing charges for the robbery and other crimes.
Thompson, 20, of Lot 55 First Street, Rose Hall Town, Corentyne, and Grant, 23 of Williamsburgh Village, Corentyne, were both unrepresented when they appeared before Magistrate Marisa Mittleholzer yesterday at the Albion Magistrate’s Court.
It was alleged that they robbed Huang Xiong, 36, and his partner, Zhang Bi Hang, 36, of $500,000 in cash and an iPhone 6. They were not required to plead to the charge. Grant was also charged separately with allegedly robbing one of the owners of a gold ring, a gold band and a quantity of Digicel phone cards, which amounted to $1M in value in total. He was not required to plead to the charge.
Thompson and Granger were also charged with robbing Devendra Narine of a cellphone and Permaul Lachna of a motorcycle costing some $160,000, a cellphone costing $50,000 and a portable DVD player costing $20,000. They were again not required to plead.
Prosecutor Orin Joseph objected to bail for the accused based on the nature and prevalence of the offences. He told the court that a raid was carried out at a house where the accused were seen hanging out and the motorcycle and portable DVD player, which Lachna later identified to be his, were found.
Thompson was also charged separately with making use of threatening language towards Gary Batson and for allegedly throwing a missile at Batson on January 6th, at the Port Mourant market. Thompson, who is attached to the spray gang at the Albion Estate, pleaded guilty to the charge of threatening language and not guilty to the charge of throwing a missile. For the charge of threatening language, the magistrate placed Thompson on a one-year peace bond or two weeks in jail if he does not abide by it.
Both men are due to return to court on January 30th.
On Tuesday evening, two men, armed with a shotgun and a cutlass, invaded the Good Life Supermarket and robbed the owners. At the time of the robbery, three customers were in the supermarket. The perpetrators ordered the owners and the customers to lie face down on the floor. The entire ordeal was caught on the surveillance cameras. One of the bandits stood guard while the other went to the upper flat of the building. Stabroek News was told that the perpetrator ransacked the upper flat and found $350,000 in cash. After returning downstairs, the men ordered one of the owners to empty the cash register. The owner gave the man $150,000 from the register. One of the men is also said to have robbed one of the owners of a gold chain, a gold ring and a quantity of Digicel phone cards. The bandits placed the cash and items in their backpack, which they were carrying, and made their escape on a motorcycle.