Third defendant in Monday gun case remanded
ALFRED Benjamin, for whom an arrest warrant was issued Monday after two others were jailed in an illegal gun case, made his appearance yesterday before Acting Chief Magistrate, Priya Sewnarine-Beharry. He pleaded not guilty to charges of unlawful possession of a firearm and two counts of robbery and was remanded to prison.
One of the charges said, on January 12, being together with another, he robbed Maynard Young of a gold chain valued $125,000.
A second charge said, the same day,  he robbed Shellon Taylor of a cell phone worth $55,000 and the third alleged that, on January 13, he had a .32 pistol without being the holder of a firearm licence.
Police Corporal Jairam Luckhai, prosecuting, said Benjamin is well known to the virtual complainants and on the day of the robberies, he and another person kicked down Taylor’s door and went inside her house. 
Benjamin enquired from Taylor about a gun he gave to her and, when she told him that she had none to give him, he took her cell phone and grabbed the chain off Young’s neck and escaped, the prosecutor said.
A report was made by Taylor and she and Neil Mc Bean were, subsequently convicted and imprisoned for unlawful possession of the firearm.
After the prosecutor successfully objected to bail for Benjamin, based on the seriousness and prevalence of the crime, the remanded prisoner maintained that he does not involve himself with any gun problem.
He confessed that “the most” he would do is rob somebody or take away their belongings.
Benjamin will make his next court appearance on February 3.
On Monday, Taylor and Mc Beann were each sentenced to three years imprisonment and fined $75,000 for unlawful possession of a gun after they both pleaded guilty in the same court.