Once entrusted with safeguarding the security of the nation, a young member of the Guyana Defence Force found himself on the other side of the law today as he was slapped with a number of armed robbery charges, including a $5.5 million robbery.
21-year-old soldier, Jamal Hazel, wore a grim look on his face as he walked into the Magistrates’ Court in shackles.
He was charged today with armed robbery of Andrea Purdessy on January 11, 2018 in the Kitty area. The Court heard that on that day and while in the company of an accomplice, he relieved the woman of $4.7 million in cash along with a mobile phone.
The Court was also told that on the same day, he also robbed Bodram Hamraj of his brushcutter, which was worth $100,000 and two days later, a .38 pistol with matching rounds were found in his possession.
The Police Prosecutor objected to bail and told the Court that the victims positively identified the soldier, who used a motorcycle to carry out the alleged robberies.
The young man’s Attorney pleaded for bail and claimed that the soldier was beaten by Police investigators during questioning. He did not provide any medical to confirm any injuries. Bail was denied.
The GDF rank was arrested over the weekend after the Army handed him over to Police. That move came after a search of the house where he lives, uncovered a number of mobile phones along with a gun and ammunition.
An elderly woman, who was home at the time of the search, was taken into custody and investigators were led to the man’s workplace.
In Court today, he denied all of the allegations, but has been remanded to jail until later this month, when the case will continue.
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