A 23-year-old man was accused of stealing a gun that belonged to his employer when he appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Wednesday.
Charlestown, Georgetown resident Horace Thomside was granted $150,000 bail and ordered by Chief Magistrate (ag) Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus to undergo a mental health evaluation.
He is charged with stealing a Taurus .38 revolved valued at $125,000 and five live .38 matching rounds, all totalling $126,095, and the property of Professional Guard Service (PGS).
Thomside is employed by the company as a security guard.
The defendant entered a not-guilty plea after the charge was read to him.
During his submissions to the court, the defendant’s attorney requested that the magistrate grant his client reasonable bail due to his mental state.
The lawyer did not offer any supporting evidence for this. Nonetheless, a probation official disclosed that the accused had already undergone mental health treatment.
Additionally, the lawyer told Chief Magistrate (ag) Isaacs-Marcus that his client is willing to abide by any conditions imposed by bail.
The Police prosecutor opposed Thomside’s release on bail, pointing out the gravity and prevalence of the crime, the discovery of the gun under his bed, and the admission by Thomside to Police that he had taken the firearm.
But the Chief Magistrate overruled these objections, saying that prison might not be the best place for Thomside given his mental health. According to a Probation officer, Thomside told her that he had stolen the gun to protect himself because he felt threatened.
In the end, the defendant was granted bail with the condition that he would receive therapy at the mental health clinic at Georgetown Public Hospital and report to the Kitty Police Station once every two weeks while his trial was pending.
The Chief Magistrate was reassured by Thomside’s father that he would make sure his son followed the court’s orders. This case was postponed until January 2024.
Based on reports, Alton Mars, a driver who also works at the same company, reportedly signed and collected eight .38 revolvers and two shotguns from the duty officer last Friday, after which he placed them under the mat in the front passenger seat of the motor car he was driving.
He then proceeded to Pradoville at Ogle, East Coast Demerara (ECD), where he picked up Horace Thomside of Adelaide Street, Charlestown, to take him to his workstation at Saffon Street, Charlestown, but instead, he ended up at Case Diamond located on East Street, Georgetown, where he issued a .38 revolver to a guard on duty.
He along with Thomside then travelled to New Building Society (NBS) and Caribbean Airlines on Avenue of the Republic where again, he issued one revolver each to the guards on duty at the two sites. The driver then drove to Saffon and Broad Streets, Georgetown, where he dropped off Thomside and issued him with a .38 revolver.
According to the Police, Mars then went to another site, this time in Agricola, Greater Georgetown, to issue another .38 to a guard but on checking, he discovered that a .38 revolver and five rounds of ammunition were missing.
As such, he immediately contacted the duty officer and informed her of the missing firearm.
This prompted a probe during which several checks were made at the various worksites where Mars had made drop-offs during the morning session but the firearm and ammunition were not located. However, the matter was reported to the Police, thus resulting in the arrest of both the driver and Thomside the following day.
During interrogation, Thomside admitted to stealing the firearm and hiding it under his bed. He reportedly took the Police to his home in Charlestown where the firearm and five matching rounds of ammunition were found wrapped in a sock hidden under the bed.
