The three men who stormed into their employer’s mining camp and beat him with pieces of wood while holding him gunpoint during a daring robbery were remanded to prison today.
This morning, 20-year-old miner, Christopher James and 19-year-old Jermain Melville, both of Tucshen New Scheme, East Bank Essequibo (EBE) along with 23-year-old Dellon Benjamin, a miner of Suddie Sand Creek appeared before Magistrate Crystal Lambert at the Bartica Magistrate’S Court via Video call to answer to a charge of Robbery with Violence.
They were not allowed to plead and were each remanded to prison until July 27, 2020.
Just three days ago, 62-year-old miner, Adam Da Silva, who was badly beaten by his employees with pieces of wood and a cutlass then robbed of his raw gold over “payment issues” is said to be a stable condition at the hospital.
The three men reportedly told the cops that they were hired by the now injured man some two weeks ago as “pitmen” and had been working on his six (6) inch land dredge operation.
However, on Friday afternoon after the men had finished “washing down” gold they alleged that they were not paid the quantity of gold that Da Silva agreed to for their jobs.
As such, the three suspects hatched a planned to execute a daring robbery at the camp site.
According to the perpetrators, the miner was in his camp where they ambushed him after arming themselves with weapons (pieces of wood and a cutlass).
They demanded that he hand over raw gold to them and dealt him several blows to his body until he revealed where he had hidden his “strong box with the gold stash”.
The trio then removed the raw gold which is said to have weighed 14.2 pennyweight and valued at $213,000 from the hiding spot and attempted to make good on their escape.
However, another employee who was in camp raised an alarm when he realised what had transpired.
As such, the three suspects made a dash through the camp site to escape apprehension but were nabbed by public spirited persons in the area.
The quantity of raw gold was also recovered by the persons who apprehended the trio and also given to the cops.
