Pawnbroker, associate charged with holding woman against her will

Last Updated on Tuesday, 24 March 2015, 2:48 by GxMedia

Two men, who allegedly held a woman in a house against her well because she allegedly owed failed to repay them GUY$500,000, were refused bail on Monday.

They are pawnbroker 36-year old Freeman Fordyce of 99 Collingswood Avenue, Nandy Park, East Bank Demerara and Nelson Pratt of South Ruimveldt Park, Georgetown.

They were refused bail by Chief Magistrate, Priya Sewnarine-Beharry after the prosecution argued that she was known to the accused and they could easily tamper with the case. They have been remanded to prison until their next court appearance on April 2.

Police said that on March 18, 2015 Fordyce abducted Rhonda Ward with intent to cause her to be unlawfully confined. Pratt and Fordyce were jointly charged with unlawfully confining Ward on the said date in a manner so as to prevent her from leaving a building in Georgetown.

Fordyce was also charged with assaulting a police officer and behaving disorderly while a lawman was placing him in a vehicle.

Fordyce, Pratt and Carl Klass were also charged with unlawfully confining the same woman on August 2014, but that charge was struck out because summary charges cannot be instituted more than six months.

The facts of the matter are that on March 18, the woman was standing on Croal Street when Fordyce arrived and forcibly shoved her in his vehicle. The prosecution further alleged that Fordyce drove the woman to a house on 6^th Street, Alberttown where she was kept against her will while Pratt was guarding the building.

Defence Lawyer, Peter Hugh told the court that Ward borrowed half a million dollars and she failed to repay the money. Hugh said his client was bundled into Fordyce’s car while she was on her way to a relative to collect the money but she never received it. It is further alleged that Boyce’s shoulder was dislocated while in police custody.