The trial of a Sandys man accused of stealing $150 and allegedly brandishing a knife continued yesterday when the defendant?s soft spoken mother took the stand in his defence.

On Monday the Supreme Court trial commenced with Gilbert Clayton Smith of Sandys charging Denton Jermaine Parris of Cochrane Lane Sandys with stealing $150 and wielding him off with a twelve inch knife.

Yesterday Parris?s mother, Linda Thomas told the court that her son came to her house late afternoon on the day of the alleged incident (March 5) and that he was driven in a maroon car by a man she recognised by sight. ?I don?t know his name but I know who he is,? she told eight-woman three-man jury.

?I know his wife, we grew up in the same area.?

Defence lawyer Victoria Pearman asked Mrs. Thomas why her son gave her $125 that day.

?He owed me money, he was always borrowing money from me,? she said.

Mrs. Thomas told the court that her son had come to her house that day because he often ?popped by? to see her.

On Wednesday, Mr. Smith told the court that gave Parris a lift from Malabar Road in Dockyard between 6 and 6.30 p.m. on March 5. Smith said he had gone to Dockyard to drop off some video tapes to a friend and he gave Parris a ride because he usually stops to pick people up.

Smith said he drove for a few minutes and stopped his car by Cooks Hill where Parris asked to be let out of the car. When the lights of the car came on, Smith said he saw three $50 bills in the defendant?s hand.

Smith said he was afraid for his life and did not attempt to get the money back after Parris allegedly brandished the knife and told him that if he touched him he would ?mash him up?.

?I felt nervous and shaken,? said Smith. ?I could see the expression on his face, it was strong, real strong.?

?So what did you do at that point?? asked Senior Crown Counsel Lloyd Rayney.

?I undid my seat belt, got out of the car and walked away. When I turned around he was gone so I got in the car and went straight to the Somerset Police Station,? said Smith.

He denied ever purchasing drugs that night and said he did not drive the defendant anywhere to get drugs.

Parris denies the charge of robbery while armed with a knife. He told the court on Monday that Mr. Smith gave him $125 and waited in his car while Parris went into his mother?s house.

Mr. Rayney told the court that Smith picked out Parris from a Police identification parade several days later.

Several items were produced for examination by the jury including a silver helmet that Smith alleges belonged to Parris and was left in the front seat of his car. In Monday?s session of the trial Parris admitted leaving the helmet in the car.

During questioning by defence lawyer Victoria Pearman, Mr. Smith denied going to a peach house on Cooks Hill Road to buy marijuana. And he denied knowing Parris well, saying he had seen him in the Royal Naval Field before but only knew him in passing.

?I?ll suggest to you that you saw my client Mr. Parris and stopped for him,? said Pearman.

She also suggested Parris was standing near a house on ?21 Jump St.? area of Dockyard and other people were in the area.

?You stopped for him because you were looking to buy something,? said Pearman.

?No,? responded Mr. Smith.

?Once you got to Cooks Hill Road, Mr. Parris directed you to the yard of a peach house and you drove there,? she continued. ?You gave Mr. Parris $125 for a quarter of marijuana.?

Mr. Smith again said ?no?.

Parris earlier claimed that Mr. Smith bought ?herb? from him before.

Ms Pearman suggested to Smith that there was no knife at all, certainly not a knife with a 12-inch blade.

But Mr. Smith said he knew the defendant had a knife because he could see the blade reflected by the car lights when he opened the door to get out.

Parris took the stand on Tuesday and said he saw a person he knew by sight in a maroon car stop to pick him up and ask him if there was any marijuana there. Parris said he told the complainant where he could get some.

He said he got into the car and gave Smith directions to his mother?s house on Cook?s Hill. He said Mr. Smith stopped in his mother?s yard and waited while he went to get a stash of marijuana hidden behind the house. ?I got back into the car with Smith and then told him I?d give him extra if he took me to another house to get a scale,? said Parris.

He said they drove to another house on Scott?s Hill Road and returned to his mother?s house where he weighed the drugs and talked to his mother for a bit before returning to the car.

Parris said once he came out of the house he noticed a person looking over the balcony whom he suspected was his mother?s landlord so he told Smith to drive away.

?Smith gripped me by my jacket and told me to give him the herb,? said Parris.

He said Mr. Smith was frustrated and got out of the car and walked away.

He said from him again until he was arrested by police on March 7.

Under cross examination by Mr. Rayney, Parris told the court that he knew the defendant?s wife and that Mr. Smith came to ?Jump St.?, the nickname given to Cochrane Road, to ?buy marijuana all the time?.

Mr. Rayney questioned Parris about the time of the alleged incident which he said in his police statement was originally between 4.30 p.m. and 5 p.m. Parris told the court yesterday that he was in the car with Smith at his mother?s house between 5.40 and 6 p.m.

?Did you not say to the Police that the time of what happened was between 4.30 and 5 p.m.?? questioned Mr. Rayney.

He suggested another person had driven Parris to the house and that Mr. Smith had put in the details of an earlier time to avoid facing charges.

?For what,? questioned Parris when the point was raised.

?To avoid a conviction for armed robbery, that?s why,? said Mr. Rayney.

The trial continues today before Acting Justice Archibald Warner.