Guard offered bail, co-accused remanded after church break-in
MANCHESTER, Jamaica – One of three men charged in connection with breaking into a church was granted bail, while his co-accused were remanded when they appeared in the Manchester Parish Court in Mandeville on Tuesday.
Security guard Rohan Dixon, 47, was granted $800,000 bail, while Orlando Wilson, 31, and Meandre Vassell, 24, were remanded. All three are to return to court on December 9, 2022.
Dixon, from Spalding Hill district in Clarendon, is charged with conspiracy and sacrilege. Wilson, a technician from Albert Town, Trelawny; and Vassell, an electrician from Bellefield, St Mary, are charged with simple larceny and sacrilege.
The three were arrested after more than $600,000 worth of items were stolen from the place of worship.
Allegations are between 9:45 pm on Saturday, October 29, and 12:30 am the following day, the Spalding New Testament Church was broken into.
The police said six-speaker boxes, eight led lights and a case of tissue, all valued at $660,000, were stolen.
READ: Four held in $600k robbery at Church, security guard among those detained
It is alleged that shortly after the robbery, the men were driving along the main road in Spalding when they saw a police patrol diverted onto another church compound and fled, leaving the car with the stolen items.
The police seized the car and a motorbike and recovered the stolen items. Hours later, about 5 am, two men were picked up in the town of Spalding.
One of the two men was the owner of the seized car and was found with a remote control for the vehicle.
Two other men were picked up after further investigations, but one was subsequently released.