The Tribune

By SANCHESKA BROWN

Tribune Staff Reporter

sbrown@tribunemedia.net

POLICE have released the other three men they had in custody in connection with the botched Atlantis casino’s cash cage robbery on Sunday.

Head of the Central Detective Unit Paul Rolle said police are satisfied the men were not involved in the robbery at this point.

“We think the right men were charged and have no evidence to charge the other three men so we let them go,” he said.

“We have no plans on charging them. We are satisfied that only two men were involved. We also believe, despite the rumours, that no money was taken off the property. We recovered all the money. “

Police initially arrested three men on the day of the attempted robbery and arrested an additional two men, current employees of the Atlantis Resort, a day later.

Two of the three men police arrested on Sunday appeared in Magistrates court on Tuesday facing more than 30 criminal charges.

Vadis Morrison, 32, of Hunt Street and Tarico Bethel, 30, of Deveaux Street were flanked by policemen Tuesday from the time they got out of a police bus outside court until they entered Deputy Chief Magistrate Bethell’s courtroom on the second floor of the Magistrates’ Court complex.

The deputy chief magistrate told the accused they were each faced with 32 charges against them, the first being armed robbery.

It is claimed that the two men, on Sunday, September 23, while armed with a pepper spray, robbed Sharon Thompson of $106,260 and 10 cents, the property of the Atlantis Paradise Island Resort.

The magistrate told the accused that due to the nature of the charge, they were not required to enter a plea. She also noted that the matter could proceed by a pre-trial in Magistrate’s Court or be fast-tracked to the Supreme Court through a Voluntary Bill of Indictment (VBI) based on the choice of the prosecution.

The police prosecutor chose the VBI.

Deputy Chief Magistrate Bethell continued with the arraignment, reading the remaining 31 charges against the accused.

The second charge the men faced was shop breaking where it is claimed they broke into the Resorts cashier’s cage with intent to steal.

The following 30 charges were garroting and causing harm with matters of aggravation, 15 of each.

It is claimed that the two, intending to commit armed robbery, attempted to render 15 employees of Atlantis incapable of giving resistance and causing them harm in the process.

Once the 32 charges were completed, the accused were given their date for the VBI presentation, which will occur on November 27 at 12:45pm.