Six Years for Guyanese Thief

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police

Saturday, 09 February 2013 02:30

By Nicole Shirley

Antigua St. John's - A man who said his former boss was partly to blame for his crime was sentenced when he appeared in the High Court before Chief Justice Keith Thom.

Osmond Gordon had earlier pleaded guilty to the charge of larceny.

The accused, the father of two small children, stole a substantial sum from his ex-boss when he broke into her house at Pillar Rock on March 4, 2011 while the woman and her housemate were away from home.

According to reports, the victim secured her home at about 5 pm that day and returned at about 2 am, to find that her home had been broken into.  She found her kitchen window open, and EC$19,435 and US$5,000 which she had left in a drawer in her living room was missing.

She subsequently made a report at the Gray’s Farm police Station. The defendant was apprehended at the VC Bird International Airport two days later.

It is said that Gordon went to his aunt’s office the day after he committed the crime and asked her to purchase a ticket for him to return to Guyana.  The sum of $800 was paid, and the reservation was made for March 6. The man also gave $700 to his girlfriend and left US$1,860 and EC$200 under a bed in his aunt’s house.

He also bought a watch, a Blackberry, clothes, and football shoes.

The police had meanwhile made contact with the immigration department to institute a stop order at the airport to prevent Gordon from leaving. When he attempted to flee the country, the lawmen were called in and he was arrested.

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Gordon admitted to stealing the money from his former employer to help his mother, and said he had left the job because his former boss had accused him of stealing things from her place. He said he was also publicly humiliated, and as a result was too embarrassed to return to work.

As investigations continued, a search warrant was executed at the home of Gordon’s aunt and a portion of the money was found. The man’s then girlfriend also handed over $500 to the police.

A total of US$3,510 and EC$700 were recovered and returned to the complainant.

Before he was sentenced, Gordon told the court his former boss was partly responsible for what he had done, but he was nonetheless sorry and wished she were present for him to apologize to her.

He also said if he could turn back the hands of time,he would not have committed the offence, because he had added more pain to his already very ill mother.

The man also said he had planned to call his aunt from Guyana to tell her about the money he had planted under the bed to help with his mom’s care.

He said if he had given it to her, she would have questioned its origin. He also told the court that he was not sure how much money was in the bag, since it had burst while he was jumping, and some of it fell out.

The police were, however, unable to recover any money from the place he alleged it had fallen out.

Gordon was sentenced to six years in prison, with time spent taken into consideration. He has already served 23 months.

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