POLICE have charged three men with the $5.4M heist from the office of the Region Ten (Upper Demerara/Upper Berbice) Regional Democratic Council (RDC).
Marvin Blackman, 20, of Lot ‘M’ 29 Tucville, Georgetown, Samuel Rodney, 21, of Lot 606 Mackenzie and Cecil Pollard, 29, of Lot 1451 Amelia’s Ward, also in Linden, appeared before Acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry and were each put on $500,000 bail.
Particulars of the indictable offence said, on February 17, at Wismar, being armed with a gun, they robbed Compton Daly of the money that belonged to the RDC.
Police prosecutor, Sergeant Lionel Harvey,  said Rodney and Pollard are employees of the RDC, who were approached by Blackman, a former employee and they, together, went to the RDC office.
The prosecutor said the trio held the security guard at gunpoint and used a welding torch to open a safe that contained the cash.
Harvey said, based on a description, Blackman was arrested and certain information he gave the police led to the other two defendants being held.
Citing the seriousness of the offence and the possibility of the defendants not returning to Court, he objected to bail for them.
But defence counsel Glen Hanoman, for Rodney and Pollard, declared it is ridiculous for the prosecutor to make such an objection after Police had, previously, put the men on $25,000 station bail, individually.
The lawyer contended that the Police were under pressure to solve the case which is of a political nature.
Other defence counsel Adrian Thompson, representing Blackman, claimed the police picked him up on Mash Day, on the basis of a rumour and used excessive force to make him sign a document under duress.
The magistrate overruled the police objection to pre-trial liberty for the defendants and transferred the case to Christiansburg Court, in Linden, too, for March 1.