A mother of five has been granted $150,000 bail after pleading not guilty to stealing a gold band valued at over $3.8 million from a Georgetown workshop.
Latoya Christian, of Cummings Lodge, East Coast Demerara, appeared before Senior Magistrate Fabayo Azore at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Wednesday to face the larceny charge.
The allegation states that on January 31, 2026, at Tobin’s Workshop on Aubrey Barker Road, Georgetown, Christian allegedly took a gold band belonging to Ronald Newton. Christian denied the charge.
When asked by the magistrate whether he wished to proceed with the matter, Newton confirmed that he did. The prosecution did not object to bail, claiming that Newton and the defendant shared a child — an assertion Newton immediately and firmly rejected, stating he has no personal relationship with Christian whatsoever. Reports from the hearing indicated that Christian had told police she had a child with Newton, a claim he denied, accusing her of repeatedly lying about the matter.
Christian’s attorney, Patrice Henry, requested reasonable bail, highlighting that his client has an unblemished record and is not a flight risk. Henry also raised questions about the circumstances surrounding the alleged theft, noting that several workers — including foreign nationals — were operating unsupervised at the workshop at the time.
The defence attorney pointed to inconsistencies in the prosecution’s case, noting that while some witnesses placed Christian near the gold band, others stated she was never in that area. He argued that his client is being unfairly targeted.
“It just came down to everybody putting the blame on her,” Henry said.
Senior Magistrate Azore granted Christian bail in the sum of $150,000. The matter is scheduled to return to court on April 22, 2026.
