Bottle of perfume led to indictment of break-in accused

A man accused of breaking into a woman’s house and stealing $511,000 worth of items was yesterday placed on bail in the sum of $100,000 after appearing before acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry.

The allegation against Sapphaire Bamfield is that on April 2, he broke and entered the dwelling house of Karen Vazailio and stole therein three gold chains together with other items valued $511,000, property of the said Vazailio.

The accused denied the charge of break and enter and larceny after being arraigned at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

The prosecution’s facts are that on the day in question, the virtual complainant (VC) secured her room by means provided and went out and upon her return she realised that the room had been broken into and a number of items were missing.

Pindar said that the lock from the woman’s door had been removed and  subsequent investigations  by the police led to a bottle of perfume belonging to the complainant in the defendant’s room.

The prosecution objected to the defendant being granted his pretrial liberty on the grounds that both parties live in the same building and there is a likelihood that he may want to tamper with the witness.

According to Pindar, the defendant lives downstairs while the complainant lives in the upper flat of the said building.

When asked by the acting chief magistrate if there was another address to which he could move, Bamfield provided the court with his girlfriend’s address after which he was admitted to $100,000 bail.