Weeping ex-con admits to cell phone theft spree, claims he had no choice

Mohamed Ali

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