Morvin Maikoo, a youth who was granted time to repay a man he stole from but failed to follow through and then absented himself from court, was yesterday sentenced to six months in prison.
Maikoo, who was charged on April 18th under the name Akeem Bennett, was yesterday brought before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in Georgetown on an arrest warrant.
It was alleged that on April 14th, at Seawall Road, Georgetown, Maikoo stole a cellphone, valued $85,000, from Travis Ramphal.
At his arraignment, Maikoo was granted his release on $10,000 bail, which was paid by the victim after the accused claimed that there was no one to pay his bail. Maikoo was also ordered to return to court to begin repaying the victim or to ask the court for more time.
Asked yesterday by the magistrate why he was hiding from the court, the accused claimed that he was not hiding but that he could not find work and was too afraid to return to court.
Police prosecutor Gordon Mansfield, however, told the court that the accused was arrested in Soesdyke on Thursday. He added that the name Bennett, given by the accused, was discovered by police to be his former boss’s name. Further checks revealed that the accused’s correct name was Maikoo.
“Your smartness outsmart you,” the Chief Magistrate told the man, before reminding him that the court gave him a chance and that the complainant even paid his bail and yet he failed to show up to court. She noted that he was demonstrating that he did not like his freedom.
Maikoo then heard that he would have to proceed to trial. However, he requested to change his plea to guilty.
The charge was later re-read and he entered a guilty plea.
Prior to sentencing Maikoo, Chief Magistrate McLennan stated, “In sentencing you, I’m still being lenient because you’re a young man and I don’t want to make you into a criminal….”
Maikoo was then sentenced to six months behind bars for the crime. He was encouraged to never return to court again and to walk the straight and narrow path.
It was the police’s case that when the incident occurred, Ramphal and Maikoo were liming at the seawall. While there, Ramphal reportedly sent Bennett to get a pack of cigarettes from his car but Bennett never returned. Ramphal then returned to his car and discovered his phone missing. After a report was made to the police, Mansfield said Bennett was arrested and admitted to stealing the phone. He added that the phone was not recovered.
