One of the four men arrested in connection with the kidnapping of the Cooper twins was yesterday charged with assaulting the still-missing brothers.

Amid high security, Kenneth Jermaine Burgess, 33, of 29 Cottage Hill Road, Hamilton Parish was driven in a Police van from the entrance of Hamilton Police Station and shepherded into Magistrates' Court through a back entrance, with hundreds of bystanders and members of the media looking on.

Dressed smartly in a tan suede jacket, khaki trousers and brown shoes, Burgess appeared outwardly calm as he tried somewhat casually to hide his face from the cameras.

Appearing before Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner, Burgess was charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent to do grievous bodily harm to Jahmal and Jahmil Cooper at a house in Devonshire on Sunday March 13.

Burgess was not required to plead to the charges in the lower court.

Crown counsel Paula Tyndale raised a number of objections to bail ? submissions which were upheld by Mr. Warner despite the protestations of defence lawyers Mark Pettingill and Richard Horseman.

Burgess was remanded into custody and is scheduled to appear for mention in Magistrates' Court on March 31.

Following his court appearance, Burgess was placed back in the Police van and driven back to Hamilton Police Station, with hundreds of spectators trying to get a glimpse of him across the Police cordons. Shortly after, he exited the station with a number of officers in tow, before being whisked away to Westgate.

Three other men arrested earlier this week are still in Police custody and it was not known last night whether they will be released or ultimately charged.

Large sections of Reid Street were cordoned off by Police while traffic was re-routed, resulting in major tailbacks along Reid Street extension and the eastern end of Front Street.

Members of the public were prevented from standing anywhere near the court building, with several Police officers firmly ushering away anybody who strayed into sensitive territory.

Police media relations spokesman Dwayne Caines defended the drastic actions as necessary and in the best interests of public safety.

"In high profile cases such as this one, it's better to be safe than sorry," he told .