Man admits TCD robbery
A man admitted today to robbing a security guard of $56,518 of Bermuda Government money outside the Transport Control Department in Pembroke.Tashon Bean, 22, of Pembroke, is said by prosecutors to have used force against victim Gary Wilson while robbing him of a bag containing the cash.He is also said to have acted with another person who is not before the courts. Prosecutor Carrington Mahoney did not give any further information about the incident on November 12 last year.However, police stated at the time that the incident took place around 4.45pm in the parking lot at TCD.“It appears that a security guard was accosted by an unknown man who took a bag containing a quantity of cash and attempted to make good his escape,” said a spokesman.“The suspect was apprehended and the surrounding area was searched by Police to locate the bag and its contents.”Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves ordered a pre-sentence report on Bean and remanded him into custody.The case came during the monthly arraignment sessions at Supreme Court which also saw a number of gun-related cases dealt with by Mr Justice Greaves.Noet Barnett, 25, of Pembroke, pleaded not guilty to a charge of attempting to murder Jeremiah Dill on October 4 2010. Mr Dill, who was 27 at the time, was treated for injuries to his “lower extremities” after getting shot on Parsons Road in broad daylight.Mr Barnett is also accused of using a firearm to commit attempted murder and handling a firearm; a Rexio RJ Serie .38 SPL revolver. He denied those charges too and his trial was set for July 11. He was remanded into custody in the meantime.In a separate case, a man and woman faced charges of handling a Rexio RJ Serie .38 SPL revolver gun on or about December 12 2010.Kofi Dill, 31, and Thayja Simons, 22, are additionally charged wirth handling ammunition in the form of a .38 calibre bullet.Mr Dill and Ms Simons denied both sets of charges and were remanded into custody until their trial begins on August 22.Curtis Mallory, 21, of Warwick, was accused of two armed robberies, and two charges of brandishing a firearm while committing them.He admitted the first set of charges; robbing Jason DeMello of cash in Smith's on January 2 2011 and using a firearm in the crime.However, he denied attempting to rob Alex Travasso of money while armed with a firearm in Devonshire on January 4.Prosecutor Carrington Mahoney asked that the second set of charges lie on file.Mr Justice Greaves ordered pre-sentence reports and bailed Mr Mallory.Teenager Leo Burgess, 17, pleaded not guilty to charges relating to an alleged daylight home invasion in South Road, Southampton, on December 6 2010.Mr Burgess is alleged to have stolen jewellery and money during an aggravated burglary while armed with a firearm. The teenager, from Sandys, is also accused of possession of a firearm by a minor aged under 18.He denied both charges and was remanded into custody until his trial on July 11.Meanwhile, in a drugs case, 53-year-old Mary Johnson was accused of conspiring to import $2.4 million of cannabis weighing 108 lbs between a date unknown and October 21, 2010.Ms Johnson, of Pembroke, pleaded not guilty and was bailed.In a fraud case, a former school guidance counsellor denied allegations that he swindled a woman out of $345,000.Cedric Oates, 40, is said to have used a statement he knew to be false, misleading or deceptive to get Dianne Laird to invest the monies.His initial hearing at Magistrates' Court in June 2010 heard from prosecutor Tawana Tannock that Oates is a US citizen married to a Bermudian, and he'd been working in Bermuda as a school counsellor.She did not specify which school.Mr Oates' trial was fixed for June 20 and he was bailed until then.Unless otherwise stated, all the defendants must return to Supreme Court at the next arraignments session on May 2.