Handyman jailed for six months over necklace theft

A handyman was yesterday sentenced to six months imprisonment after he was found guilty of stealing a necklace from Dr Faith Harding’s home.

Akeni Perry’s trial before Magistrate Sueanna Lovell ended yesterday at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

The case against him was that between October 31 and November 1, 2012, at Anira Street, Queenstown, while employed as a handyman at Harding’s home, he stole a gold necklace valued $300,000.

Perry’s case was prosecuted by Police Prosecutor Alexis David-Hossanah and several witnesses were called who testified against the defendant.

When the case was first called, on December 7, 2012 before Chief Magis-trate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry, Perry of 17 Turkeyen, East Coast Demerara, pleaded not guilty.  On that date the prosecution had related to the court that on October 31, at about 8 pm, Dr Harding had left the necklace on the vanity in her bedroom and gone out of the home to run a few errands. Perry was in the house at the time doing some maintenance work.

It was not until the following day, as Harding was preparing to go out that she realized the necklace was missing and made checks about the room.

She had also asked Perry about the whereabouts of the necklace but he had denied having knowledge of it. He was released on $50,000 bail at that hearing.