Duo who hijacked taxi, caught changing number plate in cemetery remanded

Remanded: Daniel Mc Arthur

Two men who are accused of robbing a man of his vehicle and placing him in the trunk during the process were Monday charged and remanded to prison on an armed robbery charge. Stephon Daphness and 19-year-old Daniel Mc Arthur of Vryheid’s Lust, East Coast Demerara appeared before Magistrate Roschell Liverpool at the Sparendaam Magistrates’ Courts.

It is alleged that on May 13, 2021, at Second Street, Cummings Lodge, East Coast Demerara, while being in the company of each other and armed with a gun, they robbed Miles Burrowes of one Toyota Allion motor car #HD 1860 valued at  $3,200,000 and $55,000 cash, property of the said, Burrowes.  They both pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Facts presented by the court prosecutor stated that on the day in question, the Burrowes was working his taxi in the vicinity of Middle Road, La Penitence, Georgetown when he was stopped by the defendants who requested to be taken to Second Street, Cummings Lodge.

Daphness boarded the front left passenger seat of the vehicle while Mc Arthur sat at the back. The driver proceeded to the men’s destination. The court heard that while the driver was about to turn into the said street, Daphness ordered him to stop and pulled out a handgun and placed it to his head.

Mc Arthur began choking Burrowes. His accomplice, Daphness relieved the taxi driver of the articles mentioned in the charge and dealt him a cuff to his face in the process. They then tied his hands and placed him in the trunk of the vehicle and drove to an unknown location.

However, the victim managed to escape from the trunk when the car stopped on Sheriff Street, Georgetown.

The following day, police acting on information went to a location at Vryheid’s Lust, East Coast Demerara, in the vicinity of a cemetery where a motorcar fitting the number plate of Burrowes vehicle was seen. Daphness and Mc Arthur were observed changing the vehicle’s number plate.

They were then arrested and taken to Brickdam Police Station where an identification parade was conducted. They were positively identified by Burrowes as the persons who robbed him. They were arrested and charged with robbery under-arms.

Mc Arthur is no stranger to the courts. Earlier this month, he was slapped with a larceny charge after it was alleged he snatched a woman’s chains from around her neck.

According to the charge, on April 29, 2021, at North Road, Georgetown, he stole from the person of Janetta Morris, two gold chains valued at $224,000, property of the said Janetta Morris.  After denying the charge, Mc Arthur was released on cash bail.

Facts presented by the prosecutor stated that on the day in question, the victim was walking when she was approached by Mc Arthur who snatched her chains and ran away.

The prosecutor added that Mc Arthur was chased and caught by a bus conductor who witnessed the crime. The defendant after being arrested was positively identified by the virtual complainant. The court even heard that he admitted to snatching the woman’s chains.

In 2019, Mc Arthur and several others who were caught on a widely circulated video snatching a man’s phone at Stabroek Market Square, Georgetown, were charged and remanded to prison. They were subsequently charged with larceny and released on bail.

In the CCTV footage, a group of young men was seen walking on Croal Street, Georgetown. The men then walked up to a man who was on his phone and standing in front of ibet Supreme. Two of the men approached the man and snatched his phone. They then made good their escape.

They were later arrested by the Police and charged. Mc Arthur was previously charged with robbery under-arms. On that charge, he was also released on bail.