Tool thief gets 18 months jail

Paul Richards will spend the next 18 months in jail after he was found guilty of stealing tools after breaking and entering a home.

Magistrate Sueanna Lovell handed down the sentence yesterday at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

It was the police’s case that between February 12 and February 15, 2012, at Lot 86 Middle Road La Penitence, Richards, of Lot 204 Middle Road, La Penitence, broke and entered the dwelling house of Terron Rhannohar and stole a quantity of electrical tools, a sledge hammer and a crow bar, valued at $236,500 in total.

When Richards, 32 was arraigned on February 17, last year, he had pleaded not guilty to the charge.

At the time, Police Prosecutor Denise Booker described him as a well-known drug addict. She said that Rhannohar had secured his premises on Tuesday, February 14, 2012, leaving everything intact. Booker said that the next day, he discovered that plywood which he used to secure a western part of his home was removed and the articles mentioned in the charge were missing. She added that a report was made to the police and the accused was arrested and admitted to committing the offence.