22-year-old charged with robbing cruise ship visitor

A 22-year-old man may face jail time if he is found guilty of the daylight robbery of a tourist.

Jervany Baptiste of Rose Place has been charged with the robbery of an unknown man, of an unknown address (as stated in the court) of a gold bangle, worth an unknown sum of money and putting this man in fear of force.

He is further charged that on the same day, he assaulted and resisted the arrest of a police officer, one Keith Barnett, while he was carrying out his duty. The court listed the offences as having taken place on November 8 at Bentick Square, Kingstown.

According to reports, last Wednesday, at around one in the afternoon, a group of tourists who had alighted the Britannia, the largest cruise liner to dock in SVG, were walking through Kingstown in the vicinity of the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital. It was then that they were allegedly approached by a group of men, one of whom robbed a male tourist of his possession and then ran away. A police officer gave chase but lost the perpetrator in the tussle that ensued.

Baptiste appeared before the Serious Offences Court yesterday when all three charges were indictably laid against him.

Prosecutor Adolphus Delplesche objected to bail for Baptiste in light of the ongoing investigations, as the complainant was a visitor to these shores. He further stated that being in the midst of the tourist season and given the fact that “the investigators are of the view this accused has a propensity for offences of this nature,” he was afraid that if the accused were to be granted bail it would “only allow him to continue in that direction.”

Delplesche said he was aware that the prosecution could not keep denying bail forever, and assured that the investigation would be carried out as expeditiously as possible.

Chief Magistrate Rechanne Browne-Matthias acknowledged that it was obvious because of the way the charge was put together (referring to the repetition of the word ‘unknown’), that “it requires further work.”

She further stated that due to the nature of the matter, she would deny bail to Baptiste.

The court will review the matter and bail for the accused on November 20.(KR)