By FARRAH JOHNSON
Tribune Staff Reporter
fjohnson@tribunemedia.net
A 54-year-old man was yesterday ordered to compensate a woman he stole more than $1,000 worth of building supplies from last month.
Patrick Gray was accused of stealing 32 bundles of shingles and 12 gallons of paint from a woman sometime between July 5 and 6. The prosecution alleged the stolen items had a combined worth of $1,393.
The court heard the complainant realised that someone had broken into her residence to steal a number of items sometime during the first week of July. She told police she had not given anyone permission to enter her yard or home and filed an official report. As a result of her complaint, Gray was arrested. In an interview with officers at the Carmichael Road Station, he denied the allegations.
Still, when the defendant appeared before Magistrate Samuel McKinney yesterday, he pleaded guilty to the offence. As a result, he was fined $500 or six months at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services. He was further ordered to reimburse the woman for the items he had stolen from her property.
Three other men also appeared before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes for similar offences.
Bruno Cherfrere, 20, and Ashtin Forbes, 19, were accused of stealing and dishonestly receiving a green 2000 Honda Accord worth $3,000 on August 7. The pair denied the allegations and the matter was adjourned to October 5 for trial. Both men were remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services
In a separate incident, 21-year-old Laudel Ferguson was accused of trespassing on a man’s Bellot Road residential property to steal a 2018 Yamaha scooter sometime between July 17 and 18.
During the hearing, Ferguson pleaded guilty to stealing, but insisted he had purchased the bike from another person and had no knowledge of it being stolen. As a result, Magistrate Forbes said he would enter not guilty pleas to the charges and stood the matter down for trial on October 5.
Due to the nature of the allegations brought against them, the men were denied bail and remanded to BDCS until trial.
They all have a right to apply to the Supreme Court for bail.
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