Two men accused of robbing Scotia Bank on Stella Maris, Long Island last Thursday, were arraigned in connection with the crime yesterday.

Twenty-four-year-old Dion Watson and 30-year-old Hanchell Rolle – both residents of Georgetown, Exuma – faced a number of charges, including stealing, possession of a firearm, armed robbery and damages.

The pair appeared before Chief Magistrate Roger Gomez.

Police believe the men stole a Boston Whaler 200 Horsepower vessel from the Exuma Market Dock in Georgetown that they then used to travel 32 miles to Stella Maris, Long Island.

It is further alleged that the men held several employees of Scotia Bank at gunpoint and subsequently robbed them.

The men are accused of stealing more than $7,000 from the bank and causing $5,000 in damages.

Both suspects pleaded not guilty to stealing and damages charges.

Because of the nature of the other offences, they were not required to enter pleas.

Attorneys for both suspects claimed that their clients had been brutalised by police and both men’s lawyers alleged that their clients’ heads were covered with a plastic bag before they were choked to a point of nearly losing consciousness.

The suspects’ attorneys asked that the men be examined by a medical practitioner and that the reports from those examinations be turned over to the courts.

Chief Magistrate Gomez gave permission for the men to receive medical attention and for the reports to be made available.

The suspects were remanded to Her Majesty’s Prisons (HMP) until October 2, when a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI) will be read.