A 42-year-old man who broke and entered the bond of a popular city store, carting off almost $520,000 in electronic items, received a four-year sentence when he appeared before the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

Linden Hausa, also known as Linden Douglas, of 16 Howes Street, Charlestown pleaded guilty to two counts of break and enter and larceny when it was read to him. However, he requested that the court allow him to explain.

Between June 3 and 4 Hausa broke and entered the bond of Keishar’s Gift Shop and carted off $276,750 worth of electronic items and between June 10 and 11 the defendant again broke and entered the bond of the said store and stole $242,435 in electronics.
 
According to the prosecution, on the first occasion the store had secured its premises on the night of June 3 and discovered at 8 am on June 4 that the items were missing from the bond. However, the defendant was caught by the security on duty when he attempted to break and enter the bond for the second time on June 11.

Reports said that on the second occasion the defendant was seen exiting the bond and an alarm was raised. He attempted to escape but was subsequently caught by the store’s security.

The prosecution explained that this is not the first time Hausa is before the court for a matter of this nature. According to them Hausa was released from prison on March 27 after serving three years for a similar crime.

The defendant explained to the court: “I know that I’ve done something wrong. It wasn’t my intention to go back on the bad side again but is because of my sickness,” he said. Hausa said that because he was a sick man he was unable to do any kind of work.

He went on to plead with the magistrate to grant him a fine or give him a short prison sentence so that he could be with his mother this December when she comes to Guyana. “I will serve God, I did give my life to Christ when I was in prison,” he said. “I promise I gonna be a changed man.”

“You can’t promise. You need to promise yourself that,” Principal Magistrate Melissa Robertson-Ogle told Hausa. “You asked for two years and you will get two years for each charge,” she said.

Hausa is to serve his two-year sentences consecutively.