3 men jailed for nine years each for armed robberies, abducting taxi driver

Three men have been jailed for nine years each for armed robberies and abduction.

Emanuel Hale, called Bad Coolie, 19, of Sophia, Greater Georgetown; 35-year-old Rawle Franklin aka Rawle Dog of Sparendaam Housing Scheme, East Coast Demerara (ECD); and Hamza Samuels, 23,  of D Field Sophia, were found guilty of the crimes on Monday by Magistrate Ruschelle Liverpool at the Sparendaam Magistrates’ Courts.

They were convicted of three counts of robbery under-arms; the victims are Madan Ramdeo, Jenny Mingo and  driver, Joshua Singh. These people were robbed on August 18, 2022. Further, they were also found guilty of abducting Singh.

On each of the robbery charges, they were each sentenced to four years’ imprisonment. For abducting the taxi driver, a five-year prison term was imposed on each of them. The sentences will run consecutively, meaning their cumulative sentence is nine years each.

The case was prosecuted by Police Sergeant Visram Ramjattan.

Based on reports, on the day in question, the three convicts and their accomplices went to a taxi service at Vryheid’s Lust, ECD where they held Singh at gunpoint and forced him into the trunk of his vehicle, a Toyota Allion valued at $1.7M.

They also robbed him of cash and a cell phone.

They then joined the motorcar and proceeded to B Field Sophia where they robbed Mingo of $293,000. At Ogle Airstrip Road, ECD, they held up Ramdeo, who was seated in a car and robbed him of a cellular phone and cash, totalling $73,000.

Whilst in the vicinity of Houston, Greater Georgetown, the robbers saw a Police patrol and they drove to Agricola, Greater Georgetown to evade the Police. Shortly after, they came out and  returned enroute to Georgetown, when they were intercepted by the Police at Hunter Street, Albouystown, Georgetown and Mandela Avenue, Georgetown in the vicinity of DSL Cash and carry where they crashed into the rail and attempted to escape.

They were engaged in a shootout with the Police which led to the death of their accomplice, Andrew Newyear. At the scene, Police recovered a 9mm pistol with a magazine containing three live rounds. Upon inspecting the vehicle, the Police found Singh in the trunk.

Hale reportedly told detectives that he and  his accomplices were on a robbery spree and that at the time of their arrest, they were headed on the East Bank of Demerara for more targets.

Hale,Franklin and Samuels were initially charged in August 2022; and at that  hearing, they were remanded to prison.