A man has been sentenced to two years in jail for stealing his employer’s jewellery, which he was later seen wearing in the profile photo he used for his WhatsApp account.
Uriel Amsterdam, 25, a former member of the Guyana Defence Force of Canje, Berbice, was sentenced after he admitted to a simple larceny charge at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
The charge, which was to read to him by Principal Magistrate Faith McGusty, stated that between the night of October 8th and October 9th, 2019, at Lot 94 Fourth Avenue, Subryanville, Georgetown, he stole $200,000 in cash and a gold chain and ring worth a total of $112,000 from the home of Tenika Archer.
According to Police Prosecutor Quinn Harris, Archer left her home and locked her jewellery in a vanity in her bedroom. On the date mentioned, Amsterdam was left alone in her home to fix the ceiling and he used a tool to pry open the vanity drawer with the jewellery. He then took the items.
Archer, upon noticing the drawer was open and the items were missing, made a report at the Kitty Police Station. Amsterdam was contacted by the police, told of the allegation and he confessed to the offence.
Amsterdam pleaded “guilty with explanation” after the charge was read to him. When given the opportunity to tell the court his explanation, he said, “I only steal the gold chain and gold ring, I don’t know anything about any money.” He also told the court that he did maintenance work for the woman and that while he knew it was wrong and he would not do it again, he had already sold the articles and spent the money he received from the sale to buy clothes for his baby.
The court was further informed by an investigating officer that the ex-soldier is wanted for a similar offence in Wales, West Bank Demerara. The officer also showed the magistrate a photo of Amsterdam wearing the missing gold chain around his neck. The police said he had set the picture as his WhatsApp display photo.
After listening to the facts, Magistrate McGusty sentenced Amsterdam to two years in prison for the crime committed.
