A teenager charged jointly with his 70-year-old grandmother for unlawful possession of a motor vehicle, was granted bail when he and the elderly woman appeared before the Montego Bay Resident Magistrate's Court on Tuesday.

Eighteen-year-old Andre McIntosh was granted $100,000 bail. His grandmother, Pearlene Jackson of Snake Lane in Rose Heights, St James, was bound over to attend court on June 30 as the police try to ascertain the owner of the car.

The two were not pleaded as defence lawyer Adrian Dayes said he needed to read the file in order to properly advise his clients.

had proof

He expressed surprise that the grandmother was charged because she had proof that she had bought the car.

The court heard that on June 5, police went to the home of the two accused in Rose Heights with a warrant, looking for McIntosh. However, Jackson told the police that her grandson was not home.

The police proceeded to McIntosh's room but the door was closed. Jackson told the police that she did not have the key. It is alleged that when the police decided to forcibly open the door, McIntosh, who was in the room, opened the door.

The room was searched and $44,000 was found in a section of a refrigerator among some ground provisions. He told the police that he had no idea how the money got there, and his sister allegedly claimed that she had received the money from her father in Westmoreland.

But when the police said they would contact her father to verify her claims, she changed her story and said that she had withdrawn the money from her mother's bank account. It is said that her mother denied this story. The sister then told the police that she had lied to protect McIntosh.

The court was told that a black Toyota Corolla was seen in the driveway that Jackson said belonged to her. She then claimed that McIntosh gave her money to buy the car. A man subsequently turned up at the Montego Freeport Police Station to claim the vehicle but could not present the relevant proof.

The police are expected to carry out checks on the documents presented by the person to ascertain if they correspond with the particulars of the motor vehicle.