Bandit surrenders

NALINEE SEELAL

AN 18-year-old Laventille man, captured on surveillance camera pushing down a woman and beating her during a robbery in front of her two-year-old son, surrendered yesterday to Port of Spain police. The man was accompanied by his attorney Adrian Thompson.

According to reports, at 1.30 pm, the teen walked into the Port of Spain CID and surrendered to acting Snr Supt Ajith Persad, Insp Mark Maraj and Cpl Ramlogan.

He was allowed to speak briefly with his attorney before being led into a cell, where he remained detained yesterday, and is expected to be placed on an identification parade today.

The teen reportedly went into hiding after the video of the robbery went viral last Wednesday, hours after the robbery, and he was recognised by several of his neighbours and friends, who alerted him to the video on Facebook and advised him to go into hiding immediately.

However, the video of the robbery was cleaned up by the police Cyber Crime Unit and the man was easily recognisable to the Port of Spain CID and others.

The police searched for him between Friday and Sunday, and relatives were told to inform the suspect he was being sought for questioning and should surrender.

Yesterday, the man’s attorney contacted police saying the suspect would make himself available.

Police are yet to get back the gold chain which was stolen from the victim, Elena Rivers. Last Wednesday, at 3.30 pm, she was walking on Gallus Street, Woodbrook with her two-year-old son, when, near Woodbrook Pentecostal Church, a man cuffed her in the face, pushed her to the ground and began pulling at her handbag.

He took a cellphone from her handbag valued $4,000, but Rivers fought back and retrieved the phone from the man’s pants pocket. The infuriated bandit continued to wrestle with Rivers while her son stood by looking on helplessly.

Rivers later sought medical treatment at the Woodbrook Health Centre and then reported the matter to Woodbrook police.

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