An 18-year-old arrested in connection with Wednesday's armed robbery of a Back Street jewelry shop was ordered held on $75,000 bail at his initial appearance in Territorial Court where a detective said he led police to the loot.
Police Detective Corrine "Reds" Daniel told Judge Brenda Hollar that Ab-Raheem Muhammad was picked up for questioning because he fit the description of one of the two armed robbers. A bicycle unit officer detained him when he was sighted on Main Street after the robbery, she said.
Muhammad, a Hill Street resident, reportedly had been observed pacing on both Main Street and Back Street hours before the mid-morning robbery of the Blue Carib Gems shop in Bakery Square.
Daniel said that immediately after she and her partner, Sgt. Angelo Hill, placed him under arrest, Muhammad "took us to a brick oven on Hill Street where he had stashed the stolen jewelry pieces." All 56 pieces taken in the robbery were recovered, Daniel said.
She described Muhammad as one of two gunmen who stormed the store and demanded diamond jewelry. One "held the clerk at gunpoint while the other rounded up the jewelry before both fled on foot," the detective testified. She said witnesses told police that one suspect had a gold-crowned tooth, and she said that person was Muhammad.
Charged with first-degree robbery and possession of stolen property, Muhammad was being held at the Bureau of Corrections.
Hollar told Assistant Public Defender Brenda Scales to submit in writing her arguments as to why she should reduce Muhammad's bail or allow him to post 10 percent for pre-trial release. The judge said she wanted to look at the defendant's juvenile record "to determine whether he has been a menace to society" before deciding whether to take either action.
Prosecutor Renee Gumbs objected to bail reduction. She said that Muhammad, who turned 18 in March, has another criminal case pending. He was charged with assault on May 23, she said, and arraignment in that case is set for July 13.
