FIVE suspects, including three who will be identified for the first time, will appear in court today charged in connection with the botched Republic Bank Limited (RBL) robbery on July 4.

Bank employee, Jamal Haynes and his gang members, Elton Wray (now dead) and Keron Saunders had reportedly planned on getting their hands on the night’s deposits since it was a three-day weekend and companies would have deposited millions of dollars in cash.

Wray, a 25-year-old agronomist who studied in China on a government scholarship and was employed at the National Agriculture Research Extension Institute (NAREI), was shot in the chest during the robbery.

He died while receiving treatment at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

He had recently secured a loan from the same bank to purchase his Nissan Juke car, which he had parked in South Ruimveldt prior to attacking the bank.

Reports indicate that the robbery on the bank was planned three months before and the men even hijacked a car the night before.

Jamal Haynes of Norton Street, Wortmanville, Georgetown, was treated at the GPHC for gunshot wounds to both legs and is in police custody.

Haynes and Elton Wray were best friends and lived together in Eccles, East Bank Demerara.

It was reported that on the morning of July 4, the three armed men entered Republic Bank, Water Street Branch before it was opened to the public.

The perpetrators wore masks, gloves and carried handguns and opened fire on the RBL personnel inside the building. Professional Guard Service security personnel, who were on site, immediately raised an alarm and an armed response teams proceeded to the location.
Arriving shortly after the alarm had been raised, the teams assessed the situation and took up defensive positions with their police counterpart.

Police said three firearms, including two 9 MM handguns and one .40 gun were found at the scene.