The Tribune

AN ex-convict who was released from prison for good behaviour was yesterday sentenced to five years behind bars after he repeated the same offence that had landed him in prison in the first place.

Police arrested Brunaro Moxey, 28, after he stole a $50 jacket, $600 pair of Gucci shades and $83 in cash from a woman’s parked vehicle on March 15.

He pleaded guilty to trespassing and stealing when he appeared before Senior Magistrate Derence Rolle Davis.

The court heard the complainant contacted police around 3.40 that morning to report that someone had broken into her Kia vehicle, which was parked in front of her Blair Estates residence. When officers responded to her complaint, the woman informed them that the person had stolen her jacket and designer sunglasses out of the car.

The prosecution said officers found Moxey walking in the area a short time later. He was subsequently arrested and taken to the Fox Hill Police Station.

When he was questioned he owned up to the offences. He also told officers he was walking in the area when he saw a car parked in front of a yard with its door open. He said when he noticed the vehicle was not locked and secured, he opened the door and stole the items. The court was told that Moxey had been found guilty of housebreaking and stealing in 2017 and had most recently been convicted and sentenced to one year in prison for stealing in August 2020. However, Moxey was released before his latest sentence was completed after receiving the Governor General’s pardon.

Yesterday, Moxey begged the magistrate for leniency and asked him to give him a fine instead of a custodial sentence as he had just been released from prison “because of good behaviour”. Moxey said he only committed the offences because he got cold while he was walking so when he saw the jacket, he decided to grab it. He claimed the Gucci shades and $83 cash were in the pocket of the garment.

In response, Magistrate Rolle Davis noted Moxey’s previous convictions and said it appeared that he was a “common thief”. As a result, he accepted his guilty pleas and sentenced him to five years at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

“Having been convicted on four occasions other than this conviction, the court is of the view according to the penal code, that the penalty should be doubled,” he said. “The court must protect society from this individual.”