Almost two years after Vincentian prosecutors halted court proceedings for extradition orders for two Vincentian nationals accused in a daylight robbery in Grenada, law enforcement authorities on that neighbouring island have announced the arrest of a Trinidadian they now say is linked to the said robbery.
Scotland is among five Trinidadians on remand in Grenada in connection with the midday robbery at the Carriacou branch of the Grenada Cooperative Bank.
Scotland and the others are scheduled to reappear in court next Wednesday.
Police in Grenada has confirmed that Trinidadian national Nashawn Scotland has been slapped with three charges of robbery with violence, possession of firearm and money laundering in connection with the October 2019 robbery at the Carriacou branch of the Grenada Union of Teachers Credit Union (GUTCU).
Grenadian authorities in October 2019 had issued a wanted bulletin of the suspects in the crime and regional and international law enforcement agencies were notified. Footage from CCTV outside the building showed two persons exiting.
Vincentian nationals Anlee Browne and Hyah Parsons, both 23 years at the time, of Carriere, were taken into custody on October 25, 2019, after authorities said they were suspected to be the two persons in the CCTV footage.
The Grenadian authorities issued warrants for their arrest and made applications for their extradition to Grenada.
The Vincentian nationals were taken to court were remanded into custody pending the outcome of the extradition proceedings.
There was public outcry here when the story hit the local media. Many said Browne and Parsons did not fit the images seen in the CCTV footage provided by Grenadian authorities, hence the issue of positive identification arose.
Defense lawyer Grant Connell subsequently made an application for their release from custody mainly on the strength of affidavits presented to the court confirming that on the morning when the robbery took place, October 11, 2019, Browne, who works at the Central Sewage and Water Authority (CWSA) and Parsons, who works with a contractor, was signed in to work.
The affidavits also strengthened the defense’s case of mistaken identity.
Browne and Parsons were granted $3,000 bail each on November 12, 2019, after Senior Prosecutor Adolphus Delpesche said he had no objection to their bail.
The extradition proceedings were discontinued in February 2020 as the crucial matter of identification was examined.
