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A bandit who was disarmed and beaten by patrons of a shop in Girard, Babonneau last Sunday has been formally charged, police said.
Police said 25-year-old Reynolds Alfred of Carielle, Castries was this morning charged with robbery and appeared in court
Alfred was reportedly charged after an identification parade/procedure this morning, and eyewitnesses have finally given official statements to police after they initially refused to cooperate, sources say.
Reports are that around 1 a.m. Sunday, Alfred, wearing a mask, dressed in full black and armed with a gun, entered a shop/bar in Girard and demanded money from persons in the bar and also took rum.
However, the patrons put up a fight and overpowered him and took the firearm.
He was then beaten, stripped naked, and his photos were posted on social media.
Shortly after the beating, police were alerted and they took him to Victoria Hospital in serious but stable condition.
Alfred was discharged on Tuesday morning and was reportedly not under police guard when he left the hospital. It was also revealed at the time that police had not received any official witness statements.
Police arrested him at his residence on Thursday and brought him into custody, accompanied by his lawyer.
Police are now seeking at least two suspects who were reported to have been in a getaway car at the scene of the crime.
The firearm used in the robbery was never handed over to police. However, on Thursday evening, around 8:30 at Hill 20, Babonneau, police reportedly recovered an Uzi submachine gun and two rounds of ammunition in a nylon bag, that was allegedly dropped by two suspicious males who ran after seeing two off-duty police officers approaching them.
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