CHARLESTOWN, Nevis, CMC – The 28-year-old man accused of robbing United States Supreme Court judge Stephen Bryer while he was vacationing at his home here earlier this month, plans to plead not guilty when he appears in court, his lawyer has said.

Defence attorney Dr. Henry Browne said that his client Vidal Browne, who turned himself over to law enforcement officials in St. Kitts hours after his photograph was released to the public, will plead not guilty whenever he is brought to court to answer the charge of aggravated robbery. He faces a maximum of 20 years in jail if convicted.

“I am confident of the rectitude of my client’s position,” Browne,” told a local radio station, adding that no court date had been set.

He said his client would, “plead not guilty with full confidence, at the appropriate time”.

Police said that on February 9, a masked intruder cut through a screen door of the Golden Rock villa home of Justice Stephen Breyer and demanded money.  He reportedly made off with some US$1000 in cash.

The 73-year-old U.S. Supreme Court judge, his wife Dr. Joanna Breyer, a renowned pediatric psychologist, and two guests were unharmed during the incident.

Justice Breyer, who has since returned to the United States, has been visiting Nevis for some 18 years.

An article in the L.A. Times over the weekend quoted Justice Breyer’s sister-in-law Mary-Anne Sergison-Brooke as saying that the thief, “looked more nervous than we were …Nevis is such a nice, friendly island. We were never that worried.”

The US Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) confirmed that it had been assisting the police here in its investigation of the robbery.