The charge against a Dominican woman accused of stealing $340,000 from a man she allegedly spent the night with in a hotel was dismissed after the complainant offered no evidence in court yesterday.
It was alleged that Zilineli Richards on September 4th at Parika, East Bank Essequibo, stole $340,000 from Wayne Yahya. Last Friday, Richards made her first court appearance before Magistrate Leron Daly and was remanded to prison after pleading not guilty.
When the matter was called before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan yesterday, the complainant told the court that he no longer wished to proceed with the matter. Yahya said that the defendant’s husband approached him and asked that the matter be dropped because Richards has a young baby. He then requested that the court grant her a chance because of the baby.
The matter was subsequently dismissed by the Chief Magistrate.
Richards then paid Yahya $40,000 in compensation and it was ordered that the $91,000 found in her possession when she was arrested by the police, and which was lodged at the police station, be returned to Yahya.
Richards was also placed on a 12-month bond to keep the peace and was cautioned that a failure to do so would result in a default sentence of six months imprisonment.
Facts surrounding the matter indicate that the mother of one agreed to spend the night with Yahya in a hotel at Parika. However, when Yahya woke up at 5 am, Richards was nowhere to be found and the money, which was in his pants pocket, was missing. He reported the matter to the police and Richards was later arrested. After being cautioned, she allegedly told the police that she only took $91,000.
