A TWENTY-five-year-old psychiatric patient from the Georgetown Public Hospital clinic, who is currently before the court on two charges of carjacking, was yesterday slapped with another charge when he appeared before Magistrate Ann McLennan.It is alleged that Raymond Samaroo of 20 Owen Street, Kitty, who is a Route 40 minibus driver, on Monday at Lot 35 Garnett Street, Campbellville stole a Honda CRV Civic bearing registration number PLL 2966, valued $5 million and a $25,000 Samsung cellular phone along with $30,000 cash, property of Ronda Joaquin.
Samaroo was not required to plead to the indictable offence. However, Magistrate McLennan allowed him to plead after the Administration of Justice Act was applied. The charge was re-read and the prosecution made an application for the matter to be tried at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
Regarding the details of what happened on June 27 and 28, Police Prosecutor, Corporal Deniro Jones told the court that the Virtual Complainant (VC) had parked her car in front of her house to open the gate, when the accused jumped into the driver’s seat and drove away.
The prosecutor told the court that an alarm was raised and the police set up a road block but the defendant managed to escape and injured two police officers in the process. Subsequently, the police were able to arrest Samaroo after he crashed into a trench at Mocha, East Bank Demerara while police were in hot pursuit.
Attorney Clyde Forde, representing Samaroo, gave the court the information regarding his client’s mental condition and advised that he be placed in the care of the Psychiatric Clinic once more.
Nevertheless, Jones objected to bail on the grounds that Samaroo has pending matters before the court of a similar nature and it is alleged that the defendant committed the said offence while on bail. He added that the defendant had given Lot 228 Owen Street, Kitty as his address but the one given to the court is not the same.
The attorney, however, cleared the air regarding the prosecution’s claims about the different address. Samaroo, Forde noted, may have been in one of his mental episodes and was not in his right state of mind and gave the police a conflicting address.
Magistrate McLennan remanded Samaroo to prison and ordered him to return to the psychiatric hospital until his next court date on August 20.
In July Samaroo was remanded but was subsequently released on bail when he appeared before the court after he stole motor car PHH 5935, valued $5 million from Rishi Lall on June 27, while on Sheriff Street, Georgetown. He also stole the same car on June 28 from the vicinity of the Kitty Police Station on Alexander Street, Kitty, Georgetown.
According to the prosecution facts, Lall on the day in question was on Sheriff Street with his girlfriend and he was outside the vehicle while she was inside. They did not notice when the accused jumped into the driver’s seat of the car until he attempted to drive off with her in the car. The young woman responded by jumping out of the car.
An alarm was raised and the police chased the man in the car. However, he escaped by jumping out of the vehicle with the keys. The police were able to recover the car in good order and towed it to the Kitty Police Station. However, Samaroo went there and drove the car away from the Police Station the following day. He was chased once more by the police and finally apprehended.