Denis the menace?

A fraud accused’s application for bail rested on the fact that he had an exemplary court appearance record. However, that was not enough for Denis Rodney Beckles to secure his freedom after he appeared in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court on 11 fraud charges.

The 51-year-old artist of #37 Golden Rock, Pinelands, St Michael, was remanded to HMP Dodds until February 5 by Magistrate Douglas Frederick, who agreed with prosecutor police constable Kevin Forde’s objections to bail.

Forde argued that Beckles should be remanded due to the seriousness of the offences, the fact that he had similar antecedents and a propensity to reoffend.

In his brief bail application, the accused told the magistrate he had never missed a court date and was not a flight risk.

“I don’t miss my court date,” Beckles emphatically stated.

“That is not the issue because you have a lot of forgery charges here,” the magistrate replied.

Frederick then asked Beckles if he had ever read the book Animal Farm before telling him, “while all matters are serious, some are more serious than others”.

Beckles was charged with, but not required to plead to trying to defraud CIBC First Caribbean International Bank by uttering a forged $9,200 cheque payable to himself on December 4, 2018. He is also charged with dishonestly obtaining $9,200 from CIBC First Caribbean International Bank using a forged cheque payable to himself.

Beckles was charged that on December 5, 2018, he:

intended to defraud Scotiabank by uttering a forged $78,000 cheque payable to himself and drawn on the account of Dr Jerry Emtage;

endeavoured to obtain from Scotiabank $78,000 using a forged cheque payable to himself and drawn on the account of Dr Jerry Emtage;

endeavoured to obtain from CIBC First Caribbean International Bank $8500 with a forged cheque payable to himself and drawn on the account of Dr Jerry Emtage;

presented a forged cheque for $8,500 to CIBC First Caribbean International Bank payable to himself;

On December 31, 2018, it is alleged that he tried to get $4,700 from Scotiabank using a forged cheque payable to Jerry Green, drawn on the account of IGT Global Service Limited and that with intent to defraud the same bank he uttered a forged cheque for $4,700 payable to Jerry Green.

He is also charged with dishonestly obtaining from Scotiabank on that date, $4,400 cash using a forged cheque payable to Denis Small and that with intent to defraud the same bank he uttered a forged cheque for $4,400 payable to Denis Small.

In his lone 2019 charge Beckles is accused that on January 3, not being at his home he had with him one Barbados identification card, a Barbados driver’s licence, a birth certificate, a Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation Multichoice tv tax invoice, all bearing the name Carl Roger Blackman, for use in the course of criminal deception.