‘Chinee’ out on bail

THE NUMBER of persons on kidnapping charges continues to grow, as yet another man charged with three counts of kidnapping and three counts of false imprisonment was yesterday granted bail in the sum of $400,000 with surety to be approved by a Clerk of the Peace to cover all charges, when he appeared before a Port-of-Spain magistrate.

Richard “Chinee” Kirton of Morvant appeared before Chief Magistrate Sherman McNicolls at the Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Eighth Court charged with the kidnapping of Yves Ayoung Chee and Benedict Barret at Marli Street, Port-of-Spain and falsely imprisoning them in a house at Mon Repos Road, Petit Valley. The offences were alleged to have occurred between July 17 and 26. The teenagers were abducted when they were returning home from a nightclub. Four other men, Sheldon “Skelly” Lovell, Shawn “Gumbo” Vincent, Kenny Bonnet and former Special Reserve Police, Reginald Gibson were also jointly charged with the kidnappings on separate occasions earlier this year. Kirton, an auto body repairman,  was also charged with the March 26 kidnapping of Port-of-Spain psychologist, Ronald John and falsely imprisoning Curepe businessman Dennis Persad-Jodhan at a house at Morne Repos Road, Morvant on December 23, 2002. John, the brother of former Member of Parliament for St Joseph, Carlos John, was abducted outside his Woodbrook home and rescued days later from a house at Fairly Street, Tunapuna.

Persad-Jodhan was snatched outside his Evans Street, Curepe, home and his body was found on December 28 on a plot of land just south of the Aranguez traffic light along the Churchill Roosevelt Highway. Lovell and Vincent, along with two other men, Brian Charles and Rondell Roberts were also initially charged with John’s kidnapping.  Lovell, Vincent, Kirton and two other men, Jason Joseph and Brent “Small Brent” Danglade were jointly charged with falsely imprisoning Persad-Jodhan. All seven men squeezed in to the prisoners’ dock as attorneys Ian Brooks and Patrick Godson-Phillips attempted to find out if an eighth man, Joel “Fruity” Phillip, who was listed as wanted in connection with the kidnappings, was in protective custody and had been granted immunity. Police Prosecutor, Sgt Kenneth Cordner, insisted he had no knowledge of the claim. The Port-of-Spain matters were adjourned until October 20 and the Tunapuna matters, until October 22.