On Friday we showed you a car that police intercepted because it matched the description of a vehicle that was used in an armed hold-up a few minutes earlier. Well tonight, the four men in that car 24 year old Jermaine Palacio from Castle Street, 29 year old Leon Usher from Mahogany Heights, 23 year old Lionel Sampson from Antelope Street and 26 year old Jermaine Garbutt from Neal’s Pen Road were charged for the holdup.
After spending the weekend in lockdown, they were taken to court today and charged for robbery, harm, possession of a firearm and ammunition. Germaine Palacio pleaded guilty to the charges, but because he did not agree with the facts of the case when they were read to him, Magistrate Albert Hoare entered a not guilty plea for all the charges. Palacio was serving a 5 year sentence for robbery and was released on patrol 6 weeks ago. But now he’s going back to jail – along with his associates as all four defendants were remanded into custody until January fifth of next year.
The robbery and harm occurred at Tong’s II supermarket on Vasquez Avenue around 5:30 on Friday evening. Two men stormed into the store, and one of them carried a sawed-off shotgun. The proprietor Zan Chi Chen ran to the back of the store and the gun man ran him down and kicked him in the ribs. The other man then went to the cash register and helped himself to $400.
Ten minutes later police intercepted the car on Magazine Road with four defendants inside. When they searched the car, they found a sawed off shotgun loaded with a 16 gauge cartridge stowed under the car seat. They also found $250 in cash.
