Man caught red handed stealing $1.3M in goods from hardware store

Allegedly caught in the process of carting away over $1.3M of items from a general store, a man was yesterday placed on bail even as his supposed accomplice remains out of the police’s clutches.

Fazeel Yussuf, 33, of High Street, Georgetown was charged with breaking and entering the Robinson General Store between March 25 and the following day and stealing $1,334,150 worth of items, including saw blades, padlocks, and a quantity of construction tools.

The man denied the charge when it was read to him by Magistrate Judy Latchman in Georgetown Magistrates’ Court 3. His alleged accomplice Lesley Springer, who had been released on station bail, was not present in court to answer for his purported involvement in the crime.

According to Prosecutor Joel Ricknauth, on March 25, Lennox Robinson, owner of the store, secured the establishment and left for home.

Later, the businessman received a call from an unknown person, informing him that a robbery was in-progress at the store. Spurred on by the caller, Robinson promptly made his way to his Lombard Street business where police officers had already assembled.

Prosecutor Ricknauth explained that the officers had been alerted about the robbery via the police radio network.

Along with the business-owner, the officers observed two men with wheelbarrows containing a quantity of the general store’s items. The duo was apprehended, arrested and subsequently charged with the crime.

Though Prosecutor Ricknauth raised no objections to bail, he requested that it be set in a substantial amount. As a result, bail was set at $100,000 for Yussuf by Magistrate Latchman.

Yussuf will return on April 11 for his second court appearance, while attempts to summon his co-defendant will continue.