St Elizabeth

A 34-year-old man accused of stealing more than $133,000 after he allegedly grabbed a lodgement bag from a woman in front of a bank in Santa Cruz, St Elizabeth, was acquitted in the Santa Cruz Resident Magistrate's Court on Thursday.

Woodrow Drisdate of Burnt Savannah in the parish, who was charged with larceny, pleaded not guilty before Resident Magistrate Stanley Clarke on the first day of his trial.

It is alleged that about 2:30 p.m. on October 28, the woman, an employee at a store in Santa Cruz, was accompanied to the National Commercial Bank on Coke Drive by an armed security officer to make a lodgement.

It is further alleged that while they were standing on the outside waiting to get inside the bank, the man snatched a black plastic bag with the lodgement pouch and ran.

He was reportedly chased by security officer who fired several shots. Several citizens joined in the chase and the man was held. He was severely beaten by an angry mob and handed over to the police. The stolen money was not recovered.

The woman, the first of two witnesses who gave an unsworn testimony because of her Christian belief, when questioned by the Crown, said she did not know what was in the bag. The trial came to an abrupt end as the Crown offered a verdict of no evidence against the accused, who walked free.