A woman found herself in court on Wednesday accused of stealing her boyfriend’s car.
Sasha Mentore, 23, and her cousin Melissa Isaacs, 21, pleaded not guilty to a simple larceny charge when they appeared before Magistrate Leron Daly at the Providence Magistrate’s Court.
The charge against them states that on November 5th, at Providence, they stole a car, valued $1.2 million, as well as a DVD player, an amplifier, a laptop, two speakers, a camera and an equalizer, valued in total at $400,000 and all belonging to Raymond Mangal.
According to the women’s attorney Leslie Sobers, Mentore and Mangal share a relationship. It was this relationship that allowed the young woman access to the vehicle, Sobers told the magistrate, while adding that it was customary for her to borrow the car and drive it around.
However, he claimed that on the day of the alleged theft, Mangal reportedly told the woman to leave the car at her cousin’s house as he was fearful of her driving home, since she does not have a driver’s licence. He also stated that all the other articles mentioned in the charge were in the car during the alleged auto theft.
While he acknowledged that Mentore and Mangal were in a relationship, Police Prosecutor Michael Grant stated that Mentore was invited to Mangal’s house, where they spent some time together before Mangal fell asleep. He said Mentore saw an opportunity and allegedly picked up the articles from inside the house and took the car.
He did not object to bail being granted but he asked for it to be in a substantial amount. He noted that apart from the laptop, all the other stolen articles were recovered.
As a result, Magistrate Daly set bail at $300,000 for each accused and ordered the duo to return to court on November 25th.
