Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson remanded to prison a technician charged with break and enter and larceny after he was allegedly found under his neighbour’s bed with items he had been about to steal.
It is alleged that on May 30 at Georgetown, Mark Roberts, 29, of 274 John and Smith streets, Campbellville broke and entered the dwelling house of Kameni Chatterpaul and stole $489, 200 in cash and other items. Roberts pleaded not guilty to the charge when it was read to him on Tuesday at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.
The virtual complainant (VC) who is the defendant’s neighbour told the court that on the said day she had secured her house before going out and upon her return, she and her husband Nandram Chatterpaul noticed that their house had been broken into. On further investigations, the VC said that the defendant was found under their bed with the cash and items. The police were subsequently summoned and the defendant was escorted from under the bed to the station where he was later arrested.
In his bail application, Roberts’ attorney told the court that his client had been placed on $10,000 station bail and had been cooperating with the police in their investigations. He asked that bail be granted on the grounds that his client poses no risk of flight and has no previous antecedents.
However, Police Corporal Munilall Seetaram said that the items were recovered on the defendant’s person and objected to bail on the grounds that he may flee the jurisdiction as he had to be arrested a second time after failing to report to the police station after being initially placed on station bail.
Roberts was ordered to appear in Court Two on Monday.
