A West Bay man accused of robbing the Hell Esso service station on 5 Dec. 2022 with a toy gun that broke apart during the incident, took to the stand Monday to deny the charges.
In response to questions from his defence counsel, Keith Myers, defendant Alvin Shaquille Ebanks told the jury of four women and three men that he was at home with his girlfriend eating and watching TV on the night in question, while taking occasional smoking breaks outside.
“When I looked up, I saw an unmarked [Criminal Investigations Department] car followed up by a [Firearms Response Unit] car, so I took myself inside,” said Ebanks. “I went in, grabbed an ounce of weed, ran out the back door, and jumped the fence over into my neighbour’s yard.”
He added, “I didn’t do any robbery and I didn’t have no gun.”
The robbery lasted fewer than three minutes and was captured on CCTV.
In the footage, the first robber, in a blue mask covering his entire head, and a black-and-white checkered jacket, jumped out of a silver Honda Civic and forced his way past a man entering through the main door, which required remote access from the cashier.
Armed with what appeared to be a large black gun, the main robber quickly went over to the cashier where a struggle ensued before the robber smashed the gun into the cashier’s head – breaking the toy weapon into several pieces.
After being hit, the cashier could be seen swiftly retreating into a corner, almost entirely out of the angle of the recording; meanwhile, the robber helped himself to the contents of the cash register, stealing an undisclosed amount of money.
During that entire time, another man, whose face was also concealed, could be seen by the door, holding it open to prevent the first robber from being locked in. Once the cash is secured, both men run out of the store into the getaway car and drive away.
‘It wasn’t me’
“Was that you in the video? Did you do that robbery?” asked Myers, to which Ebanks replied, “No”.
Myers then asked what differences, if any, did Ebanks think would separate him from the robber.
“Well, the main difference is that he looks larger than me,” said Ebanks.
He added, “I think the guy in the video is a dark brown complexion, and I would say that I am [of] light brown complexion.”
The prosecution told the jury that Ebanks’ DNA was found on a partially burnt shirt belonging to Ebanks, as well as a partially burnt box for a toy gun, similar to the one used in the incident.
Ebanks told the court he would often take off his shirt and shoes while outside smoking, but that on the night of the robbery, he didn’t recall leaving his shirt outside.
The trial continues tomorrow, with Ebanks remanded into custody.
The robbery was one of 47 such incidents reported to the RCIPS during 2022, making it the most active year in Cayman’s recorded history.
The sustained string of criminal activity forced the RCIPS to ‘collapse’ all non-essential services and redeploy plainclothes officers and detectives on the streets in the hopes of quelling the surge in crime.
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