Crown opens case against bank robbery suspects

(CNS): After a four-day battle to find a jury that could try David Tamasa, Rennie Cole, George Mignott and Andre Burton for the daylight armed bank robbery in June 2012 at the Buckingham Square Branch of Cayman National Bank, the director of public prosecutions (DPP) finally opened the crown’s case against the four men on Friday. The men are accused of stealing over a half million dollars in the terrifying armed hold-up, which was the biggest bank robbery in Cayman history.

Outlining her case, DPP Cheryll Richards, QC, said that the four accused men, and others, had planned and executed the daring daylight heist, and she explained that much of the evidence against them came from Marlon Dillon, who was one of the robbers. Known as as a ‘supergrass’ because of his decision to cooperate with the police after he was caught red-handed in the wake of the robbery, Dillon is expected to  testify later this week.

The crown began its case by calling members of the bank staff, who described the ordeal as the three masked men burst into the bank.

The first witness was a senior customer service representative at the bank who told the court that he was dealing with a customer at the time in the assistant manager’s office when he noticed a Toyota park in the front of the doorway of the bank. He said a man wearing headgear got out and came in through the front door. The witness said he then heard the commotion on the inside of the bank when the robbers jumped over the counter.

He said one was carrying what looked like a fake gun in his hand and another robber had a shotgun. Still inside the office, he tried to get the licence plate number from the Toyota parked outside before he heard the robbers say, “Hurry let’s go!” and the men left soon afterwards.

As they left, however, a truck had stopped in front of them, blocking their getaway vehicle, and the bank clerk said he saw the two men begin to run. After they were gone he went outside to see the Toyota and described how the key was left in the ignition and money was in the backseat. Although the clerk gave a broad description of the men, he said they were wearing hats and masks.

The second witness said she was sitting at one of the teller desks when the robbers entered but by the time she realized what was going on one of the men had jumped on her desk. She said that she opened her teller drawer with the cash in it and pushed herself away from the table because he startled her. She was scared because she realized the bank was being robbed. The robber grabbed that cash from her desk until his hands were full and then, in what had clearly been a terrifying ordeal for her, she recalled how the robber had said, “Give me the bag before I shoot your fucking head off.”

She gave him the bag and he began putting the cash in it.

Meanwhile, having also seen a second man, she described how a third robber was asking another bank worker, “Where’s the vault? Where’s the vault?” and when he couldn’t get through the door he yelled, “Open the door before I shoot you.” The witness then said the robbers left with the cash.

The witness said that during the robbery she was terrified and told the court, “I thought I was going to die; I thought we were all going to die.”

A third witness, who worked as a junior supervisor  in charge of the vault, said she and a colleague were doing their usual job when she heard loud noises and shouting coming from the teller area. She saw one man jump onto the counter holding a gun and wearing a construction hat, while another came to the treasury door with a gun in his hand and told her to open the door.

When she did, the man came in and told her and her co-worker to put the money into a black bag. As they did he told them to “hurry up”, and although he was still holding the gun, he also pushed cash into the bag before he and the two other men fled the bank.

She revealed that among the notes the man had taken from the vault were ‘banks baits’ — cash that was routinely recorded for criminal purposes such as a robbery — and that she and her co-worker had previously logged and recorded the serial numbers on a spreadsheet.

The case continues in Grand Court One at 10am Monday before a jury of eight women and four men, with Justice Ingrid Mangatal presiding.