Three young men who were arrested over the weekend for allegedly committing a daring daytime bank heist at the Mermaid Beach Club last week were formally charged yesterday in a packed Magistrates' Court room.

Throngs of curious onlookers waited at the intersection of Reid and Parliament Streets for more than two hours to catch a glimpse of the suspects, who made the short trip from Hamilton Police Station to the Magistrates' Court building on foot and in handcuffs.

Inside the courthouse, confusion reigned temporarily as the suspects were led into one courtroom and their lawyers waited in another.

Once everyone had finally assembled, the three men -- 24-year-old Omar Devall Amory, 20-year-old Harron Lee Powell Evans and 20-year-old Kirk Mundy -- were each charged by acting Magistrate the Wor. Kenneth Brown with conspiring to rob the Bank of Butterfield of some $68,000 and other items and arming themselves with a firearm while doing so.

Evans, moreover, was also charged with using a firearm to commit an indictable offence and with possessing an air pistol, while Mundy was charged with possessing an imitation firearm with the intent to commit an offence.

None of the accused, who were remanded into custody until another court appearance this morning, was required to enter a plea yesterday.

This morning's hearing is expected to establish the conditions if any of bail, although Crown Counsel Mr. Brian Calhoun, who will be prosecuting the trio, told the court that the prosecution would likely be opposing bail.

Last Friday, more than $68,000 was snatched at gunpoint from a Bank of Butterfield security van as it pulled into the Mermaid Beach Club on South Shore Road in Warwick to restock an on-site ATM.

Yesterday, Sandys resident Amory was represented in court by lawyer Miss Kim Wilson and Devonshire resident Evans by Mr. Archie Warner.

Mr. Richard Hector, who is to defend the Jamaican-born Mundy, was not present during the proceedings but is expected to appear with his client today.

The three accused, who had earlier been swarmed by the waiting crowd as they exited the Police Station and walked the few feet to the courthouse, were charged much later in the afternoon than had originally been intended and just minutes before the courthouse's closing time of 4.30 p.m. Since suspects can only be held for 72 hours without being formally charged, the trio was required to appear before the end of yesterday or be released.

The three men had been scheduled to face the Magistrate at 2.15 p.m., but were held up by a reported delay in the preparation of court documents and the inability to secure an empty courtroom.