ON September 11, four men will go on trial for the brazen daylight armed robbery attempt, which was committed on Republic Bank’s Water street branch in July.

Police Constable, Anfernee Blackman, 21, of Laing Avenue, West Ruimveldt, Georgetown; former Republic Bank employee, Shawn Grimmond of Pike Street, Kitty; Rural Constable Gladston George, 24, of Princes Street, Lodge, Georgetown; and Keron Saunders, 24, of Burnham Boulevard, Mocha, East Bank Demerara, are jointly charged for the offence.

When the matter was called before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan on Thursday, the men were handed their statements and told of the trial day for commencement.

The men had pleaded guilty to the charge and will remain on remand.

Another former Republic Bank employee, Jamal Haynes, 24, of 4 Norton Street, Wortmanville, Georgetown, pleaded guilty to the charge when the matter was first called on July 14 and was jailed for six years by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan.

Grimmond and Haynes were employed by Republic Bank at the time of the attempted robbery. Haynes was shot to his legs following the robbery attempt. George and Blackman were constables attached to the Guyana Police Force. The two allegedly aided the robbery attempt by providing firearms.

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

Haynes and his gang members, Elton Wray and 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, China-trained agronomist, who was employed at the National Agriculture Research Extension Institute (NAREI), was shot in the chest during the robbery. He died the same day while receiving medical attention.

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.

The teams assessed the situation and took up defensive positions with their police counterparts as the perpetrators were pursued.