Defendants convicted in $500k bank burglary
(CNS): David Samuel Bodden, Statan Omar Clarke and Elton David Webster have been found guilty of burglary in relation to more than half a million dollars stolen from the Royal Bank of Canada in George Town almost eight years ago. Eliza Webster was found guilty of one count of possession of criminal property in relation to just over US$4,000 seized from her at the airport a month after the burglary.
After a trial that lasted more than two months, presided over by Justice Roger Chapple, the jury deliberated for several days before coming to a unanimous verdict on Thursday afternoon. All four defendants have been bailed until sentencing in August, but the judge has already signalled that he intends to impose a custodial sentence on the three men.
As he discharged the members of the jury and thanked them for their service, the judge ordered that they be exempt from any further jury service for four years because of the length and complexity of this case.
During the trial, the jury heard that the case had been stalled before a cold case review pulled all of the evidence and clues together and charges were laid.
Prosecutors argued that Bodden, who worked at the bank and was said to be the “inside man,” made the burglary possible. The crown said he had enabled Clarke and Webster to get into the banking hall by propping the door open and telling them which teller draws held the cash. He is also said to have deactivated some of the bank’s security systems.
According to the crown’s case, the men all knew each other and were linked by phone records on the evening of the burglary. Clark had driven the getaway vehicle, an SUV that belonged to a friend of his, which police had tracked through CCTV footage.
Their attorneys had argued that there was no real evidence against their clients, and the crown had built its case on suspicions which were not evidence.
They argued there was no forensic evidence, no CCTV from the bank, no evidence of which notes were stolen on that night, and no certainty whether or not the car the police believed was involved actually was. They also questioned whether the police had successfully tracked the getaway vehicle, as they were using headlight patterns rather than number plates. The lawyers all said that the crown had failed to show any evidence that connected the vehicle, the defendants, the money and the burglary.
However, crown counsel Nicole Petit successfully argued that the “incriminating” circumstantial evidence was not just compelling but overwhelming, and the explanations given by each of the defendants when presented with the evidence made no sense.
- Fascinated
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- Afraid
Sorry Tall man. I guess you will have to run ball behind bars now.
Found guilty. Going to prison. Why on earth are they out on bail? No fear they’ll leave the island?
Guilty people should always be remanded in custody if prison sentence likely.
Suffice to say had the female not been caught with stolen cash we wouldn’t be commenting on this case…..
I know the defendants had good legal representatives, so the evidence must have been powerful.
HIJATS! LOL
“The trial came almost eight years after the robbery, as police officers worked for years to piece together clues before it could get to a trial”.
Well done to the RCIPS cold case unit.
Congratulations to the cold case unit indeed. But why was it a cold case to start with? There was no new evidence that came to light, so you have to wonder why the first team on the case didnt get a prosecution underway , especially given they had arrested 2 of the culprits at the airport a month after the crime. So basically sat there for 8 years until someone else picked up the file and put the evidence together that had been there all along. Amazed they were still on the island.
This case reflects poorly on the bank. The bank security is poor. The bank should have video of the employee disabling the cameras.
Why was the cash at the teller not secured in the safe after the bank closed?
alot of other issues.
Thank god i dont bank with them.This is why that bank
have so much fees. The bank got to get the money back even though it is insured.
So where’s the KYD500,000.00 in cash then 💰 🤔
That’s one heck of a Cayman pirates week scavenger hunt 🔎 ⛏
Buried? Backyard? Attic? 🗺 or maybe blew it all on bars, food already?
Already blew it, has been 8 years and 4 of them spending it.
Asset forfeiture then?
Thank goodness we have world class police investigator’s and prosecutors.
A big thank you to the Jury.
Good work Detectives!
Well dohhh. Turn up at the airport with the same serial numbers on your bank notes as the ones stolen? Dumb and dumber?
Play stupid games win stupid prizes
They should be on the show called “the world’s most dumbest criminals”.
I feel it was Buju did this, or maybe Blacks.
No it was duncebert and the hickatee band.
I watched much of this case, it was awfully prosecuted and the Judge desperately tried to patch it up for the disorganised and clearly unprepared lawyer. I am horrified that people are found guilty in this way. Let’s pray we are never falsely accused or in a case where the evidence is really weak. What a terrible sign of ‘justice’ if this doesn’t win on appeal I will have even less confidence in the courts than I already do. These visiting judges must stop, they don’t care about the integrity of these islands.
I didn’t watch the case, but if you have a load of money with consecutive serial numbers then if you didn’t steal it you better produce the person who did.
or you could just choose to not give evidence.
If I was innocent, I’d sure as hell be explaining where I got that cash.
That is guilty until proven innocent logic.
You must be a friend or family member of one of them.
Probably one of the four 😆