Two men accused of robbing a cashless bank branch and its customers have been acquitted by a Grand Court jury on all charges.
On Friday 15 Dec., the jury returned their not guilty verdicts in favour of defendants Richard Andre Scott and Mark Alexander Beckett, both of Jamaica.
The men were each cleared of one count of robbery, three counts of attempted robbery and one count of possession of an unlicensed firearm.
The daring broad daylight robbery of Scotiabank’s Red Bay branch occurred on 1 June this year, when two masked men entered the premises around midday and demanded cash from the teller. However, upon discovering that branch only processed cashless transactions, the robbers turned on the customers in the bank.
During the trial, one of the victims told the court of the terrifying moments a gun was pointed at her head by a masked robber, who grabbed cash out of her hand.
After making off with her money, the robbers are said to have fled the location on bicycles. The husband of the woman who had been robbed chased them, and knocked one of the men off his bike with his vehicle.
Beckett, who was the only defendant to take the stand, refuted the claims.
He told the jury that on the day in question he had purchased a small portion of ganja and decided to walk to the beach a few miles away, and that he chose to take the long way so he could enjoy the view.
The jury heard that Beckett came upon two men riding on a bicycle, when he saw the first rider get struck and the car turning around before driving towards the second rider – prompting him to run into the nearby swamps out of fear that he might be struck for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Several hours later, police officers were able to locate him, shirtless and soaking from the waist down.
After deliberating for several hours, the jury returned not guilty verdicts on all counts, and both men were released from custody.
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