An emotional ex-convict on Friday told a city court that he had resorted to crime to maintain his family—including a child with a medical condition—as he had no alternative, prompting Magistrate Geeta Chandan-Edmonds to order a probation report before giving her ruling.
Mohamed Ali, who appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, pleaded guilty to three counts of simple larceny and two counts of fraudulent conversion, and offered to give an explanation for his actions.
According to the charges, on January 12, at Woolford Avenue, Ali stole a Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone valued $146,000 belonging to Brandy Hazel and a Samsung Tablet valued $60,000 from Reyanna Abel; on January 17, in Georgetown, he stole a gold chain and $40,000 from Raywattie Outar. 12. As regards the charges of fraudulent conversion, on January 14, at Charlotte Street being entrusted with a cellphone valued $30,000 belonging to Nalini Rambarack to make a call, he converted the same to his own use and benefit. On and on January 17, at the General Post Office (GPO) in Georgetown, being entrusted with a BLU smartphone by Latanie Ross, he converted the same to his own use and benefit.
In relation to Hazel and Abel, the police stated that on the day in question they were at the Tutorial High School when Ali approached them under the pretence of being a new teacher in the arts stream. He proceeded to collect the items mentioned in the charge, informing them that he was leaving for Stella Maris Primary and would return shortly.
Prosecutor Renetta Bentham-Andrews said Ali approached two more of his victims separately at the GPO. Claiming he was an employee he guided one of the women to an office and instructed her to hand over all her cash and cellphone, since she could not enter the office with them.
He asked the second woman to borrow her cellphone to make a call and ran off with it.
He repeated that stunt at the High Court, running off with another victim’s phone.
All of the matters were reported, Bentham-Andrews said, and police acting on information arrested Ali. He was later positively identified by the victims during an identification parade.
Meanwhile, when the magistrate asked Ali to give the explanation to his plea, he declined pointing to the reporters and persons sitting in the public gallery and questioning their reason for being in the courtroom.
After the magistrate refused to clear the courtroom, Ali said, “I accept that I wrong. I very sorry. I apologize to the people that I take the things from but I had no other choice, I did it for a reason.”
Asked to state the reason, the man broke into tears and said he was exhausted trying to get a job and being refused, because a police clearance was required and since he had recently served a five-year prison sentence and was only freed last November, nobody wanted to employ him.
“Nobody knows how hard it is,” he lamented. “Although I study in the prison and graduated, nobody wanted me. Nobody don’t take care of me. My family neglect me, is pressure, I can’t do better.” He said he needed money to send his nine-year-old child to Trinidad to seek the medical attention she needed.
Ali also told the court that he was once employed with a store in Georgetown, but a prison officer had gone to the store and when he saw him, began to publicly reprimand him which led to his employer learning of his past and he was subsequently fired.
After listening to the defendant’s explanation, the magistrate requested a probation report.
The matter was adjourned to January 30.
