A Co­coyea res­i­dent as­pir­ing to join T&T's pro­tec­tive ser­vices has ap­peared in court charged with us­ing an im­i­ta­tion firearm to com­mit com­mon as­sault on three mem­bers of the San Fer­nan­do rob­bery squad.

Yes­ter­day, 24-year-old Jabari Gar­cia, a PH taxi-dri­ver, ap­peared be­fore San Fer­nan­do Fourth Court Mag­is­trate Ali­cia Chankar charged with five of­fences al­leged to have oc­curred on New Year's eve.

Gar­cia, who was rep­re­sent­ed by at­tor­ney Wilston Camp­bell, is charged with steal­ing a weld­ing plant, val­ued $10,000, at Union Hall, San Fer­nan­do.

He is al­so charged with us­ing an im­i­ta­tion firearm to com­mit com­mon as­sault, com­mit­ting com­mon as­sault on PC Nar­ine Bis­nath, PC Roger Nico­las and PC Mar­lon Men­doza, at Corinth Road, Ste Madeleine. Camp­bell, in his ap­pli­ca­tion for bail, said Gar­cia had no pend­ing mat­ters nor did he have any pre­vi­ous con­vic­tions.

"He is a law-abid­ing cit­i­zen. He got caught up in a sit­u­a­tion. He is not a flight risk. He is as­pir­ing to join one of the pro­tec­tive ser­vices," the at­tor­ney con­tend­ed. Camp­bell did not state which arm of the pro­tec­tive ser­vices Gra­cia was as­pir­ing to join. Chankar grant­ed Gar­cia $100,000 bail to be ap­proved by the Clerk of the Peace. He was or­dered to to re­turn to court on Jan­u­ary 10. (RR)