WESTERN BUREAU:

Three St James men charged in connection with the theft of a woman's cellular phone in May were remanded in the Montego Bay Resident Magistrate's Court on Monday, until July 28, to allow one of them to get a lawyer.

Ewen Doyle and Keith Forbes, from Montego Bay, are charged with robbery with aggravation against Alexia Reid, while Christopher Wedderburn, also from MoBay, is charged with receiving stolen property.

Allegations are that, on May 8 about 11 p.m., Reid was walking along Barnett Street in Montego Bay when two men, one armed with a ratchet knife, robbed her of her handbag and her BlackBerry phone. Reid reported the matter to the police and Doyle and Forbes were later pointed out in an identification parade.

It is further alleged that, on June 12, acting on information, police went to the Charles Gordon Market and saw Wedderburn with a cellular phone, identified as Reid's. Wedderburn was subsequently held.

Presiding magistrate Wilson Smith was told that, despite the prosecution's readiness, Wedderburn had not yet got a lawyer.

"I cannot afford a lawyer, your honour," Wedderburn told RM Smith.

"That is why you have legal aid. If you do not have the money, you do not pay ..." said RM Smith.