Two men were yesterday remanded to prison on a charge that they broke into a car and stole a quantity of items.
Rajesh Roshan, 36, of Lot 45 ‘B’ Field, Sophia, and Ramzan Mohammed, 25, of Lot 7 Crown Dam, Industry, East Coast Demerara, both pleaded guilty to the charge but not guilty pleas were recorded for them after they denied committing the crime.
At the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts, it was alleged that on December 5, at Stabroek Market, the duo stole a Guyanese passport, a torch light, a Sony camera and two cell phones, worth $39,500 in total, from a parked car belonging to Deochand Singh.
Prosecutor Seon Blackman told Magistrate Faith McGusty, who presided over the arraignment, that Singh parked and secured his car within the vicinity of the Stabroek Market and left and the two men allegedly broke into it and stole the items mentioned in the charge.
Roshan said that he did not steal the items but chose to plead guilty because he did not want to waste the court’s time and added that he felt that he would still go to jail in the end even if he pleads not guilty.
Roshan, near tears, further stated that he worked as a porter at the Stabroek Market for a long time and had never stolen from anyone. Mohammed nodded his head in agreement as Roshan spoke.
Mohammed added that he was given the cell phone by a man to sell and he in turn gave the items to Roshan to be sold. Both men said that they had no idea where the items came from. At this point, Magistrate McGusty recorded their pleas as not guilty.
Blackman objected to bail based on the seriousness and prevalence of the offence. He also said that the men had not given the police any addresses when arrested and expressed his concern that if granted bail it was very likely that both men may not return to court for trial. As a result, bail was refused and they were remanded to prison until December 20.
