Two charged with Petit Bourg robbery

Two men appeared before a Port-of-Spain magistrate to answer charges arising out of a robbery  attempt staged last Friday in the Petit Bourg area. Appearing before Magistrate Avason Quinlan were 21-year-old Anton St Louis of Mentor Alley in Laventille, and 23-year-old Maurice St Louis of Bon Air Gardens, Arouca. Magistrate Quinlan read the  charges faced by both men. Williams is charged with a robbery which took place earlier this year. It is alleged that on April 6, 2004, Williams, armed with a gun, and other persons, were at First Avenue, Mt Lambert, where Jennifer Rivas was robbed of a bag worth $150, $5,000 cash, one passport, two gold rings valued at US$3,800 and a watch valued at US$150.

Williams is also charged with a robbery which occurred on June 4, 2004, where it is alleged that Williams was at Eastern Main Road, Silver Mills, San Juan, with other persons while in possession of a firearm and ammunition. He is also charged with intent to endanger the life of San Juan businessman Ronald Samal, and shooting with intent. Twenty-three-year-old St Louis is jointly charged with Williams. It is alleged that both men robbed Samal of $12,680 cash. They were not called on to plead as the charges were laid indictably. Both men, who were unrepresented, were granted bail after the magistrate questioned whether they had any previous convictions. Williams indicated that he had one previous conviction for possession of marijuana, while St Louis told magistrate Quinlan that he had two previous convictions.

Williams was then granted bail with surety in the sum of $100,000 while St Louis was also granted bail with surety in the sum of $65,000. The men were both charged by officers of the Barataria Police Station. According to reports, at about 2 pm last Friday, four armed men entered Rodney’s Wholesale on Eastern Main Road, Petit Bourg, and announced a robbery. The men robbed the cashier and escaped in a black Nissan B13 Sentra. As the men were making their escape, the owner of the store, Ronald Samal, fired several shots at them with his licensed gun, wounding two of the bandits. Police officers patrolling the Mt Hope area saw two men acting suspiciously. The officers also observed that one of them had a gunshot wound to the upper thigh.