Twenty‑one‑year‑old former Castle Security guard Rakameem Benowen Nicholas, accused of staging a $13.1 million armed robbery at the Fantasy Game Lounge, Giftland Mall, was remanded to prison on Monday following formal charges in court.
Nicholas, who was taken into custody nearly three weeks after the June 22 incident, appeared before Magistrate Abigail Gibbs at the Sparendaam Magistrates’ Courts.
He faces two charges of discharging a loaded firearm with intent to maim, disfigure, disable, or cause grievous bodily harm, offenses under Section 55A of the Criminal Law (Offences) Act, Chapter 8:01.
He is accused of firing his service weapon at co‑workers Cassie Benjamin and Raywat Sankar inside the Fantasy Game Lounge, during the early morning raid.
In addition, Nicholas was charged with simple larceny for allegedly stealing from his employer a 9mm Glock 19 service pistol, serial number BFVU 468, along with 17 live rounds of ammunition from Castle Security Services.
Represented by attorney Bernard DeSilva, Nicholas pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Magistrate Gibbs denied bail, remanding him until August 19, for report and disclosure.
It was reported that on the day in question, Nicholas targeted the Fantasy Game Lounge in an armed attack.
According to preliminary police reports, Nicholas approached Sankar, the outlet supervisor, and a female floor assistant, pointing his weapon and discharging a shot into the air. He then forced the pair into the cashier’s room and ordered Sankar to open the vault. The stolen cash was reportedly collected into a garbage bin before the suspect calmly exited the building with the money.
CCTV footage later captured Nicholas walking out of the mall access road, turning west along the Railway Embankment, and entering a motorcar bearing plate PZZ 5690, which promptly fled the scene.
Following the heist, the Guyana Police Force issued a wanted bulletin for Nicholas, providing his last known address as Lot 200 West Ruimveldt, Georgetown.
Three weeks later, detectives from the CID’s anti‑crime unit located him outside KK Villa, Lime Street, Werk‑en‑Rust, around 19:00h Nicholas was arrested without incident.
Officers seized $20,950 in cash, his cellphone, and later recovered his service weapon, along with 15 matching live rounds, inside a black haversack in Room 9 of the guest house. Also found were his passport and a copy of his firearms license.
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