Witness: $2,000 withdrawn from Republic Bank ABM

A TYPIST and former ABM custodian employed at the Tunapuna West branch of Republic Bank yesterday testified that “a gentleman” had withdrawn $2,000 from the chequing account of John and Angela Cropper on December 12, 2001. The withdrawals had been made between 2.11 am and 2.17 am via the branch’s ABM. State witness Christine Rampersad, of Dry River Road in St Augustine, said the bank’s records of transactions conducted at that time showed that two withdrawals of $200 each, one of $100, one of $500, one of $1000 and two void transactions had been conducted. Rampersad said the voided transactions had resulted from an attempt to withdraw an amount exceeding the $2,000 per day limit, and a selection of the wrong type of account.

All ABM transactions, Rampersad said, were recorded at the bank’s computer centre and by a journal located at the back of each ABM machine. In addition, she said, the customer got a receipt with the details of each transaction. Balancing of the transactions conducted on any given day was done on a daily basis and the records were secured in a vault under the supervision of two custodians. These were the records she had retrieved from the vault on August 13, 2002, at the request of one of the police officers investigating the murders of John Cropper, Maggie Lee and Lynette Lichglow Pearson. The three were found with their throats slit at their Second Avenue, Mt Anne Drive, Cascade home on December 13, 2001. They were reportedly killed sometime between December 11 and 13. 

Lee’s great grandson, Daniel Agard, and another man, Lester Pitman are charged with the murders. The trial is being presided over by Justice Herbert Volney at the Port-of-Spain Second Criminal Court. After looking at the records, Rampersad said she looked at the video tape of activities recorded in the ABM at the time the transactions would have been conducted. Another witness, Francis Guerra, had earlier testified that the bank had been equipped with several surveillance cameras behind the tellers and in the ABM. The senior technician employed with Securicor said prior to December 12, 2001, he had last serviced the cameras on November 29, 2001, and they had been in good working condition. After looking at the tape, Rampersad said, she saw a gentleman enter the ABM. He had cash in his hand, she recalled. He held his hand to his head, left, returned moments later and left again. 

She said she then checked the records for any accounts held in the name of Daniel Agard and there were none. Rampersad’s co-worker, Judy De Matas, also gave evidence. De Matas, a customer assistance officer, said she was a network officer on December 12, 2001. She said it was her responsibility to ensure that the surveillance cameras were functioning properly. De Matas said it was her responsibility to record, on the tape, its commencement and expiry date, and later secure it in the vault under the supervision of two officials. She said that in December 2001, she had complied with a request from the bank’s Long Circular Mall branch to forward the tape dated December 3 to 12, 2001, along with the ABM journal for that period. Croppers’ chequing account was held at that branch. The next time she saw the tape, she said, was on July 2, 2002, when she was required to view parts of it with reference to the murder investigation. Hearing resumes today.