The Tribune

By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

THE attorneys for a man accused of committing numerous armed robberies in the capital yesterday claimed the man was flogged with a cutlass by police officers, moments after the accused’s blood-stained underwear was exposed for the court to see.

The back of Alvin Morley’s grey boxers was riddled with apparent dried blood stains, as well as what appeared to be brown and green stains. This was visible to everyone, including Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt, as he shuffled into the courtroom in shackles with his pants below his buttocks.

Then, when the 19-year-old Lincoln Boulevard resident was made to come forward and face the litany of charges against him, his trousers, which by that time were already hanging low, fell down completely, exposing his soiled underwear.

When the chief magistrate noticed the man’s boxers and asked about it, and as Morley did the best his could to pick up his pants while handcuffed, his attorney Ian Cargill responded: “That’s blood. That’s how bad he was beaten.”

Chief Magistrate Ferguson-Pratt told the court that she did in fact see and note that Morley was sporting “soiled underwear,” but said she could not come to any conclusions as to how he received those injuries.

Morley refused to sit down when he first walked in court despite being commanded to by the officers, citing the pain from his injuries as the reason. And when he was later told that he had to sit down by the chief magistrate, he had to lean to the side and prop himself up with his right elbow to alleviate the pressure.

David Cash, Morley’s other attorney, claimed his client was beaten with a machete while in custody at the Central Detective Unit (CDU). Mr Cash said when he went to visit Morley on Monday, the young man had “fresh injuries” and was bleeding, and further complained of injuries to his buttocks.

However, Mr Cash said when he asked for an opportunity to see his client’s injuries, a police officer told him he could not do so unless he brought a doctor to CDU. Afterwards, Mr Cash claimed his client was taken back in the back of the CDU compound while he was made to leave.

Mr Cash said his client was denied his right to have private communications with his attorney, in contravention of Article 19 of the Constitution, as two officers constantly “flanked” Morley during the time he went to see him.

Morley was one of three men accused of being the perpetrators of multiple armed robberies and other serious crimes in New Providence over the last two months, the other two being Javis Smith, aka “Bobo”, and

Deon Giles, aka “Lebo”, both of whom also claimed they were also beaten while in custody.

Concerning Morley, it is alleged that he attempted to murder Roobens Elusme on October 6.

Police also claim he used a rifle on October 1 to rob Police Constable 3629 Mills of $80 cash and a set of keys as well as Earthlyn Pratt of one silver and black coloured Samsung 7 Edge worth $500 and a brown wallet worth $100, that had $130 cash in it when it was stolen.

He is further alleged to have robbed Amanda Walkine of a pink and white Apple iPhone 6 worth $500.

Morley is accused of committing the crimes with 20-year-old William Wong of Regency Park, who was arraigned in connection with those incidents last month.

It is further alleged that Morley used a black handgun to rob Ethan Bain of a $4,000 Nissan Note, a silver and gold Invicta watch worth $470, and $4,500 in cash on September 17.

Morley, Smith and Gilles were further charged with robbing Brittney Bethel of a black 2008 Toyota Passo worth $4,500; a white ZTE cellphone worth $120; a Thunder Dog battery pack worth $75; a Bahamian passport worth $50 and $200 cash. They are all charged alongside Wong in that matter.

However, Mr Cargill told the chief magistrate that Morley provided documents to the authorities to show that he was not in the jurisdiction at the time Bethel was allegedly robbed.

Morley, Smith, and Gilles were also charged with conspiring to commit armed robbery on September 17, and then attempting to rob Pizza Hut’s Prince Charles location with a handgun a day later.

Morley and Gilles were further charged with being in possession of 22 unfired rounds of .45 ammunition, as well as two unfired rounds of 12-gauge ammunition on November 2. They both plead not guilty to those ammunition-related charges and will return to court on February 15 for trial.

Gilles, meanwhile, was charged with attempting to murder Courtney Hall on May 31, and attempting to rob her with a shotgun of her silver, 2007 Honda Accord on the same date. He is also alleged to have conspired to rob her at gunpoint on the date in question.

Gilles is also alleged to have attempted to murder Basil Evans Sr on October 29. He and Smith also conspired and attempted to rob Evans Sr of cash on that same date.

Also on that date it is alleged that Gilles and Smith robbed Police Constable 3923 Javasian Farrington of a 9mm SIG Sauer gun worth $895; 30 rounds of 9mm ammunition worth $150; a Samsung Galaxy Note 5 worth $450; a Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) warrant card worth $180 and $450 cash.

Gilles, along with Edward Colebrooke who was not present in court yesterday, is further alleged to have robbed Alexander Hall of $280 cash; a Samsung S7 cellphone worth $200; a gold chain worth $800; a Michael Kors watch $499; a diamond ring worth $600. He and Colebrooke were further charged with using a shotgun to rob Gardaina Lightbourne of an Alcatel 3 Plus cellphone worth $300 and one gray-coloured 2015 Kia Sportage worth $25,000, the property of Stacey Williams, on May 23.

Gilles is further alleged to have used a black shotgun to rob Alfred Rolle of a black Nokia cellphone worth $100, and attempting to rob Milton Fowler on May 30.

Gilles and Smith were further charged with using a handgun to rob Tonya Hall of a silver coloured 2007 Nissan Note worth $7,000; two Commonwealth Bank cards worth $20; two Bahamian driver’s licenses; one Fidelity Bank card worth $10; an orange and silver flash drive worth $30; a black Coach handbag worth $250 and a black Coach pouch worth $150; a rose-gold Apple iPhone worth $400. Gilles and Smith are charged in that incident with 24-year-old Jovaughn Joubert Pierre of Washington Street, who was arraigned on that charge last month.

Smith’s attorney Keith Seymour told the court that his client was “severely beaten” while in custody, and was experiencing chest pains at the time of the arraignment. The attorney further claimed his client requested to see a physician but the request was refused. Mr Seymour further claimed his client was denied access to his attorney, and was not allowed to contact his family members.

Gilles, meanwhile, said he was beaten badly by officers, in particular that he was beaten in his eyes, and that his chest was swollen. “They didn’t want me see no lawyer,” Gilles told the chief magistrate, adding that he was forced and instructed on what to say in giving his statement.

None of the men was required to enter a plea to the charges and their respective and collective matters were adjourned to later dates for service of their voluntary bills of indictment. Bail was denied and they were remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services in the interim.