An 18-year-old will be spending the next 24 months in prison since he admitted to breaking and entering a woman’s home and carting off cash, along with gold and diamond jewellery among several other items when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.

The teen, Cordell Eastman, of Stevedore Housing Scheme, told the court that he just felt like breaking into someone’s home so he used a window at the back of the woman’s house to gain entry. Once inside he said that he rummaged through the woman’s house and took what he wanted.

The teen appeared before Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson who read the charge of break and enter and larceny to him and he entered a guilty plea.

The charge stated that between February 17 and 18 he broke and entered the home of Keisha Mc Farlane and stole five gold and diamond rings, an Ipod, a pair of gold earrings, a cell phone and a cell phone charger and a quantity of cash, with a total value of $428,000.

Prosecutor Stephen Telford stated that on February 17 around 22:00 hours Mc Farlane secured her home and went to bed. He said that the next morning just after 6 when she awoke she found her bedroom window open and the articles mentioned in the charge missing.

She immediately made a report to the police station.

The prosecutor went on to say that later that day Mc Farlane went to Stabroek Market where she observed Eastman with her cell phone.

He said that Mc Farlane then approached Eastman and asked him to see the phone and he attempted to run away.

Mc Farlane, who was also present in court, stated that at this point she scrambled the back of Eastman’s jersey although he was trying to turn around to punch her.

She said that she raised an alarm and several public-spirited citizens came to her aid.

Eastman was later handed over to the police and $14,000 cash, the cell phone and the charger were recovered.

A man to whom he had sold the five rings was also on the scene and handed the rings over to the police.

The prosecutor also told the magistrate that Eastman had given the police a different home address to the one he had given the court.

The teen, who wore a blank expression, was later escorted out of the court by a policeman.