Lips Bar gunmen caught
Chinese grocer Xin Ye Zheng, proprietor of Lips Bar on Newtown Barracks, was the victim of an armed robbery on Monday when a pair of gunmen ambushed him at the close of his business. This morning thirty-one year old Brassel Gordon, a resident of Saint Thomas Street and twenty-five year old Keith Williams, a security guard of Eleventh Street, were both arraigned in Magistrate’s Court for the offense. They were jointly charged with two counts of robbery for the theft of a Nokia cell phone as well as an assortment of telephone cards. In court both men pleaded not guilty to the charges and due to the nature of the crimes they were denied bail and remanded to prison until a few days shy of Valentine’s Day.
According to Zheng, he was pulling down his shutters when he was shocked when a group of men suddenly brandished a firearm at him before relieving him of his possessions. Shortly after the incident police apprehended Gordon and Williams and found Williams in possession of an undisclosed amount of cash along with a point twenty five caliber pistol. Senior Magistrate Sharon Frazer additionally charged Williams with keeping a firearm without a gun license for which he pleaded not guilty. Both men are scheduled to return to court on February eight.