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A 27-year-old man is standing trial in the Royal Court after allegedly burgling a home, being chased down a beach by his ‘victim’, making a getaway on a child’s scooter, and threatening to bite off Police’s fingers during a barn stand-off.
This was the version of events put forward by the prosecution in the trial of Paul David William Le Geyt, who is accused of illegally entering a cottage to steal two luxury watches and a camera lens, as well as violently resisting arrest when officers eventually caught up to him last October.
Mr Le Geyt denied the charges, as his trial began yesterday with Crown Advocate Richard Pedley opening the prosecution case.
The Crown Advocate regaled the Court with a tale of Police in hot pursuit of the defendant, after a few passers-by in the area had alerted the authorities to “suspicious” behaviour in and around the St. Peter house.
Pictured: The house Mr Le Geyt is alleged to have burgled is in the area of Beaumont. (Google Maps)
The series of dramatic events, he said, began to unfold on the morning of 18 October last year, when a Beaumont resident saw a man in dark clothing coming from the property - which the prosecution say was Mr Le Geyt's accomplice who isn't being named - and being “a bit suspicious.” It was this which prompted her to call her friends – two sisters whose family home it is – telling them to come home.
Upon their return, the sisters, who also testified before the Court yesterday, say they saw a man inside the house when one of them ran around the building before chasing him across the beach.
This sister said she pursued him down the slipway to the beach, chasing him in the direction of the Gunsite Café. She eventually caught up to him, shouting at him and asking him who he was, whereupon he said: “Don’t touch me or I’ll put you on the floor.”
The Court heard that the man “sprinted up the slipway” at the Gunsite and “got away”, but Police had already been alerted to the robbery and arrived in the area not long after looking for the suspect dressed in dark clothing.
Pictured: One of the sisters chased the man across the beach, trying to get him to tell her who he was.
Detective Constables Bogdan Jagodka and James Fowler were two Officers in plain-clothes on the scene looking for the suspect.
Giving their evidence, the Detective Constables recalled seeing a man in dark clothing riding a “green child’s scooter” heading towards St. Peter’s Valley.
“I found that odd,” DC Fowler commented during his testimony.
Upon seeing the Police Officers, Mr Le Geyt allegedly dropped the scooter, leading to a foot chase that saw him scale and jump off a nine-foot wall before hiding in an elderly gentleman's barn.
According to DC Fowler, when the barn owner was made aware of the search taking place around his home, he went to check the outhouse. Catching a glimpse of someone in there, he then bolted the door shut, informing officers: “I’ve got him!”
The Detective Constables, accompanied by a Police dog handler and another officer, then approached the barn, where they found Mr Le Geyt, who they say refused to comply with their instructions to stand up and show them his hands.
Pictured: Mr Le Geyt is also charged with violently resisting arrest.
Instead, according to their testimony in Court, he adopted “an aggressive stance.”
DC Fowler told the Court that he “felt threatened by his stance” - a feeling that worsened when Mr Le Geyt took a knife out of his pocket.
He refused to drop the weapon, so DC Jagodka pepper sprayed him, causing him to throw the knife, fall to his knees and put his hands up to his face. The officers then managed to place Mr Le Geyt in handcuffs.
Describing the defendant as “highly unpredictable” and recalling feeling “scared” when his colleague informed him of Mr Le Geyt’s weapon, DC Fowler also told the Court that Mr Le Geyt also made “threats” to Police, including: “If you damage my face, I’ll damage your face” and “I’ll bite your fingers off."
Day one of the trial also saw Court hear from Crime Scenes Investigator Graham Dryland, who confirmed during cross-examination from Mr Le Geyt's lawyer, Advocate Ian Jones, that there is no forensic evidence linking Mr Le Geyt to the St. Peter home.
The trial - over which Deputy Bailiff Tim Le Cocq is presiding - will continue today with testimony from two more Police Officers.
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