Top cop ordered to release man caught in video with guns

Jun 23, 2020 News

– Weapons were not returned to security firm

Four days after he was arrested for posting a video on social media allegedly making comments that appeared to incite violence while posing with a cache of firearms, former security guard Jermaine Kingston was yesterday released from custody as a result of a court order.

Jermaine Kingston

Commissioner of Police, Leslie James was on Sunday served with the order to release the 26-year-old man from custody since the statutory maximum 72 hours of detention had passed and no application was made for an extension to keep Kingston beyond it.

Joshua Marcus, through attorney-at-law Everton Lammy Singh, made an application of habeas corpus in favour of Kingston. The matter was heard by Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall via Zoom who on Sunday ruled that Kingston should be immediately released from custody and for the costs of $150,000 be awarded to the applicant.

Thursday, police arrested Kingston who had posed with a cache of firearms in a widely circulated video on social media.

According to the police, they were able to identify Kingston as the main actor in the video. Ranks also received information that the man was attached to the Nazerdeen Mohamed (NM) Security firm and made their way down to the Jumbo Jet Auto Sales, the security firm’s parent company, location in Georgetown and apprehended Kingston. They subsequently seized high-powered rifles were seized from the security firm’s inventory located in Berbice.

Commissioner of Police, Leslie James

Yesterday, Kaieteur News contacted a senior official at Jumbo Jet, who stated that they are aware that Kingston was released without being charged and added that they did not receive back their weapons that were seized. NM Security services had denied that the weapons seen in the video belong to their company. A senior official even stated that the suspect was not employed as a security guard but as a ‘gate man’ at the Jumbo Jet whose job was to stand at the gate and sanitize customers. The suspect had only been working with NM Security Services for about three months now and is not licensed to carry weapons.

He was however previously employed as a security guard and authorized to carry weapons with KGM security. This was confirmed by the KGM head of security who revealed that Kingston only worked for four months before quitting just before the recently held March 2 General and Regional Elections.

KGM officials also denied that the weapons in the video were theirs.

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