The Tribune

By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

A YOUNG man allegedly flogged with a cutlass by police while in custody over a litany of armed robbery charges has been granted bail ahead of his trial.

Justice Gregory Hilton granted Alvin Morley $9,500 bail with two suretors ahead of his trial over allegations he was one of three men behind a number of armed heists late last year.

As part of his bail conditions, Morley, of Lincoln Boulevard, is ordered to be outfitted with an ankle monitoring device. A curfew was not imposed. However, he must report to the Wulff Road Police Station every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Morley is one of three men accused of being the perpetrators of multiple armed robberies and other serious crimes in New Providence between September and October 2018, 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, 2018. Police also claim he used a rifle on October 1 of that year 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 coloured 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 in October 2018.

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, 2018.

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 with Wong in that matter.

During the arraignment, however, Mr Cargill told Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt that Morley provided documents to the authorities to show that he was not in the jurisdiction at the time that Bethel was allegedly robbed.

Morley, Smith, and Gilles were also charged with conspiring to commit armed robbery on September 17, 2018, and then attempting to rob Pizza Hut’s Prince Charles location with a handgun a day later.

During the initial arraignment, Morley’s attorneys Ian Cargill and David Cash accused police of flogging their client, moments after his 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 the chief magistrate, as he shuffled into the courtroom in shackles with his pants below his buttocks.

Then, when he 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, Mr 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 into 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.

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

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 further asserted that 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.