Carjackers get five years for abducting taxi-driver

Jun 27, 2023 Court Stories, Features / Columnists, News

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Kaieteur News – The three alleged hijackers, who were captured following a shoot-out with members of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) last August, were on Monday sentenced for abduction and two armed robbery charges.

Those jailed are: Rawle Franklin  called ‘Mad Max’ and ‘Rawle Dog,’   33 of Sparendaam Housing Scheme, East Coast Demerara (E.C.D), 18-year-old Emmanuel Hale and 22-year-old Hamza Samuels called ‘Bad Coolie’, both of ‘B’ Field Sophia, Georgetown.

The trio was found guilty by Magistrate Rushell Liverpool at the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Courts, who subsequently sentenced them to five years for the robbery under arms charges, but one year was deducted for the time they spent on remand, and they were sentenced to five years for abducting taxi-driver Joshua Singh. The state was represented in the matter by Police Prosecutor Sergeant Ramjattan.

According to reports, the trio was last year slapped with 13 charges that include hijacking a car, abducting the taxi-driver, shooting at police and a series of armed robberies. They faced four of the charges at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts and nine at the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court.

Franklin, Hale and Samuels were among four men captured on August 18, 2022, by police during a shoot-out on Mandela Avenue in Georgetown. They had reportedly hijacked a car from the taxi driver, Joshua Singh, and locked him in the trunk before going on a robbery spree until they were nabbed finally by patrol ranks.

Franklin and Andrew Newyer known as “Black Boy” were reportedly shot during the confrontation with police. Newyer succumbed to his gunshot wounds while Franklin later recovered.

Hale and Samuels were the first to be charged. After being discharged from the hospital Franklin was charged for the same crimes.

It was reported that the trio on August 18, at Ogle, ECD, while being in the company of others, allegedly robbed Madan Ramdeo of a cell phone and cash totaling $73,000. It was further alleged that on that same day, at Red Road, Sophia, they robbed Jenny Mingo of $293,000 in items. They were also charged for hijacking a $1.7M car from Joshua Singh, robbing him of his cell phone and cash and then abducting him in his own car. Notably, the trio was jailed for robbing Ramdeo and Mingo.

Kaieteur News had reported that, while in police custody, the defendants gave police detailed confession about their alleged hijacking and kidnapping of a taxi driver before going on a robbery spree. In that confession, they named a fifth accomplice, Romario Hudson, popularly known as ‘Mario’.

Hale told investigators that he was picked up from a location at Kitty Public Road by Samuels, Franklyn and Newyer in the car driven by Hudson.

Hudson reportedly drove them to Vryheid’s Lust, East Coast Demerara. Upon their arrival there, Hudson, Franklyn and Samuels, all armed with hand guns, exited, leaving him and Newyer behind. They approached a white car with its windows down that was parked in front of a taxi base and hijacked it before locking its driver in the trunk.

The suspects reportedly got into the stolen car and Hudson drove it off. Hale claimed too that Newyer took over the wheel of Hudson’s car and drove behind the stolen car all the way to ‘B’ Field, Sophia, Greater Georgetown.

When they arrived there, Newyer handed over Hudson’s car to an individual by the name of ‘Foxy’ and together with Hale, he entered the stolen car still being driven by Hudson.

The carjackers then proceeded to carry out a robbery spree with the stolen car while the owner was still locked in the trunk. However, their luck ran out after police spotted them and chased them all the way to Mandela Avenue where they were captured eventually in a shootout.

According to reports, persons had spotted them committing an armed robbery on Lamaha Street and had tipped off police.

Moreover, it was reported that Hale and Samuels also admitted to participating in several other robberies in the Georgetown district and led police to a house in West Ruimveldt where they handed over a 9mm Taurus Pistol without a magazine and a single live 9mm ammunition.

The duo then took police to Hudson mother’s house at ‘D’ Field, Sophia where more suspected stolen items were found. Police identified the items as four cellular phones, and an HP laptop. Police also found boxes of illegal .32 and 9mm ammunitions along with over 2000 grams of ganja. Hudson’s mom was taken in for questioning and the illegal items were seized.

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• abducting, East Coast Demerara, Rawle Franklin, Sparendaam Housing Scheme, taxi driver

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