A man was sentenced to 18 months in jail on Friday after he admitted to fraudulently converting items valued at almost $700,000, which had been entrusted to him by his uncle.
Neville Haynes was arraigned before Senior Magistrate Leron Daly and read a charge which stated that in April, 2018, at North East La Penitence, Georgetown, being solely entrusted by Orin Haynes with a refrigerator, valued at $280,000, a microwave, valued at $60,000, a power master stereo, valued at $60,000, a DVD player, valued at $10,000, two BLU cellphones, valued at $10,000 and a gold ring, valued at $250,000, to keep and return same, he fraudulently converted them to his own use and benefit.
Haynes pleaded guilty to the charge after it was read to him.
According to prosecution’s case, the complainant took the items mentioned in the charge to the defendant at his residence and asked him to keep same for him because his wife had put him out and he had no place to put the items. Additionally, he was scheduled to travel to Essequibo to work. The defendant collected the items and agreed to keep them.
However, on May 10th, the complainant learned that the defendant was in police custody for the offence of unlawful wounding. The complainant then visited him at the police station and learned that his items were at North East La Penitence. Upon visiting there, he did not see his property but he noticed a receipt, which stated that his items had been traded at Elegance Jewellery and Pawn Shop. As a result, the defendant was arrested and charged for the said offence.
Police Prosecutor Sanj Singh told the court that the defendant was previously sentenced for 24 months for unlawful wounding. Magistrate Daly subsequently sentenced the defendant to 18 months in jail.
