‘Mad Max’ remanded to prison ….. has 20 gun related crimes in court
A MAN wanted for at least 20 gun-related crimes turned himself into the police yesterday and is now remanded to prison. Assistant Commissioner of Police with responsibility for the Police C Division, Marlon Chapman, confirmed that Rawle Franklin, alias ‘Mad Max’ of Plaisance turned himself into the authorities in the company of his attorney, Dexter Todd.Yesterday, the notorious Franklin appeared before Sparendam Magistrate Zamina Ally.
He was not required to plead to the charges. He is charged with attempted murder and discharging of a loaded firearm. The prosecution’s case is that on Sunday, July 26, at a dance in Plaisance, Franklin and another man, called ‘Elephant’ shot Jomo Thompson twice about his body during an argument over a gold chain. Rawle and Elephant have been on the run since then.
Although an injured Thompson was not allowed to address the court, he told the Guyana Chronicle that Franklin had shot at him before, and this time around the accusation by Franklin and ‘Elephant’ that he stole a gold chain from ‘Elephant’s friend, is false. ‘I never thief no body chain, dem know duh, is an old beef we had and he and Elephant shoot me up’ an injured Thompson told the Guyana Chronicle.
However, police, acting on information on July 31, went in search of Franklin and ‘Elephant’ but had to retire for a while after Franklin opened fire on the lawmen. Police are yet to recover the firearm they say Franklin had.
In the court room, Franklin’s attorney, Dexter Todd, argued that the police investigation into these matters are ‘premature’. Todd told the magistrate that given his client’s notorious background, the police proceeded to charge his client without proper investigation. That claim by Todd was objected to by the police prosecution, who stated that the ranks positively identified Franklin as the one who opened fire on them and that Thompson too positively identified Franklin.
Todd then moved to apply for bail in a reasonable sum, citing that his client is known to the police and therefore cannot be a flight risk. Bail was refused by the magistrate who reminded that the accused has about 20 gun-related crimes before her court, several of which he has been recorded as absent for. An angry Franklin was remanded to prison until August 10.
Police say that Franklin is the man who has been creating mayhem in the Plaisance/ Sparendaam area, pouncing on unsuspecting persons, and robbing them at gunpoint.
