THEY were jointly charged with robbery with aggravation committed on December 23, 2009, but two former policemen and a civilian were freed of the charge when Magistrate Fabio Azore upheld submissions by Attorney-at-Law Mr. Mursalene Bacchus, last Thursday at the Whim Court on the Corentyne in Berbice. Ex-Constables Colin Jonas of Canje and Satish Rajnarine of Orealla, together with Marvin Samaroo of Cumberland, in  East Canje, Berbice, had allegedly committed the crime on businessman Ramesh Kalicharran of Grant 1805, Crabwood Creek, Corentyne; but Defence Counsel Bacchus, for Jonas, submitted that a prima facie case had not been made out for the latter to answer, as no evidence was led by the Prosecution to implicate him.

In addition, the lawyer said the evidence with respect to identification was weak, as no identification parade had been conducted.

Never arrested
Meanwhile, although the men had been jointly charged and placed on $300,000 bail each, Rajnarine, who was implicated in the 2004 murder of Emroon Hossein, was never arrested; and the other co-defendant, Samaroo, though unrepresented by counsel, benefited from the ruling.

Police Corporal Shurland King, prosecuting, had led evidence which alleged that, on December 23, 2009, at around 20:00 hrs, two men pretending to be customers had entered the shop operated by the virtual complainant, and the 53-year-old, at their request, was in the process of handing them bottles of beverage when he was handcuffed and ordered to hand over his valuables.  
After the demand was met, the duo fled the premises, but subsequent to the robbery, cops on patrol in Number 76 Village, Corentyne, stopped a motor car from which two men, identified as  Jonas and Samaroo, were arrested and taken to the Springlands Police Station.

Advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), who had instructed that charges be instituted, led to the case being heard in two courts, first by Magistrate Krishendat Persaud at Springlands, where the matter ended abruptly without a ruling; then by Magistrate Fabio Azore at Whim, where it ended.