A man who broke into a hotel room and stole a quantity of cash among other items belonging to the occupants was yesterday sentenced to two years imprisonment by acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.
Winford Jacobs, 20, called “Little Buck-Boy,” who appeared in court with a cut just above his bloodshot right eye, pleaded guilty to the charges of break and enter and larceny. He admitted that on September 15, at 111 Miles Potaro Road, he broke and entered a room at the Roger Hinds International Hotel and stole a cellular phone, a camera, a quantity of artificial jewellery and a quantity of cash, totalling $320,000, the property of Rosalina Da Silva.
Jacobs stated that on the day of the incident he had just come out of the hinterland area from a mining camp when he met a friend at Mahdia. He said that they were drinking all day and “I geh high, totally high.”
He said that the next morning when he woke up be was greeted by a policeman who found the items mentioned in the charge in his pants’ pockets. “I dunno wah happen,” he told the court. “I dunno how I get cut near me eye or how de people things reach in me pockets.”
He then pleaded to the magistrate to place him on a small fine or a short sentence in jail.
Meanwhile, Prosecutor Kevin London stated that on the day in question around 01:00 hrs, Da Silva and her boyfriend had booked a room at the hotel and had placed the items mentioned in the charge on a table in the room and had gone to bed. The prosecutor noted that the room had one window.
He said that around 06:00 hrs that day when Da Silva and her boyfriend woke up, they noticed the glass window shattered and the articles missing. A report about the incident was subsequently made to the police station. London noted that a police investigation was conducted and that several persons were questioned.
He said that the police then launched a search around the area and they found Jacobs asleep in a hammock. When he was awakened and a search was conducted on his person, the policeman discovered the missing items including the cash in his pockets. Jacobs was then cautioned about the offence and he had admitted to stealing the articles. He was then arrested and charged.
The articles are currently lodged at the Mahdia Police Station.
