A well-known character to the Police found himself back in the court of law on Tuesday after being slapped with three counts of robbery that he committed on a family while they were relaxing on the Georgetown Seawall.
Christopher Niles, of Fourth Street, Alberttown, Georgetown, admitted to one of the three charges that were read to him in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Tuesday.
The first charge stated that Niles robbed Bibi Mangru of a purse valued G$20,000, which also contained G$20,000, and a Samsung Galaxy cellular phone valued G$35,000 while she was at the Kingston, Georgetown Seawall on October 20, 2018. Niles admitted to the offence after it was read to him by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan.
The two other charges stated that on the same day and said location, the 24-year-old man also robbed the Virtual Complainant’s daughter, Mahoni Mangru, also of her purse, G$50,000 along with her cellphone.
Mahoni’s husband, Tekchan Balgobin, also fell victim when the unemployed defendant took his valuables worth G$90,000 while using personal violence while committing the robberies. He denied these charges.
However, the prosecution is contending that on October 20, 2018, the family was on the seawall when the elder Mangru saw the defendant riding past her on a bicycle and he then stopped a short distance away from where she was sitting and started to assault her daughter. Upon seeing that, the woman allegedly went to her daughter’s rescue only to be assaulted too, by the man who has had previous brushes with the law. They were subsequently relieved of their valuables by Niles, who later made good his escape on his bicycle.
Niles, after admitting to taking the woman’s purse, told the court that the family drove behind him, hit him off his bicycle and took the purse he had stolen. Further, he told the court, “Is frustrated, I frustrated mek I jump off my bike and choke that woman and take away she things and ride away.”
For the charge to which he admitted, Magistrate McLennan jailed him for 18 months.
The trial for the other two charges will begin on October 31, 2018.