A Sophia man was yesterday sentenced to 12 months imprisonment after he was charged with receiving a stolen BlackBerry cell phone, when he appeared before Magistrate Judy Latchman at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.
Michael Smith, 26, of 167 Section A, ‘A’ Field, Sophia pleaded guilty to the charge which stated that between February 3 and April 20, at Georgetown, he received a stolen BlackBerry Torch valued $144,000, property of Charisa Cummings, knowing same to be feloniously stolen or unlawfully obtained.
The prosecutor, Police Sergeant Vishnu Hunt said that on February 3 at about 20:15hrs, the virtual complainant (VC), was in the company of friends on the Kitty seawall, when a group of young men attacked them. He added that they dealt the VC several cuffs about her body and relieved her of the cell phone.
Hunt said that subsequently the VC used her mother’s cell phone to re-invite her lost cell phone as a contact and the person who was using the phone accepted the invitation and she started to chat with the person. She then requested to meet the person at a Digicel store located at the Stabroek market and it was agreed.
The prosecutor further added that on April 20, at about 13:00hrs, the VC and her mother who is a police officer went to the area as planned, where the accused was contacted on the said cell phone. The police were summoned and the accused was arrested.
Smith was unrepresented by an attorney during his court hearing.
