Forshaw St man charged in $2.5m break-in

Two men were yesterday arraigned on separate charges of breaking and entering at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

Akeem Connell, 27, was charged with breaking into the Queenstown home of Rabindranath Brasse between the 13th and the 21st August, 2015 and removing a quantity of high-priced articles.

Among the stolen articles were a Honda outboard engine valued $280,000, a quantity of electrical tools valued $800,000, a Panasonic sound system valued $200,000, a quantity of clothing valued $200,000, a DVR player valued $500,000, 2 Movado watches valued $180,000 and a quantity of gold jewellery valued $350,000, a total value of $2,590,000. Connell, a resident of 244 Forshaw Street, Queenstown pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Police prosecutor Kerry Bostwick objected to the man being granted bail citing the nature of the offence as well as the quantum of articles stolen.

Additionally, Bostwick noted that Connell lives in close proximity to Brasse, therefore the possibility exists that the accused may attempt to interfere with Brasse during the course of court proceedings. Meanwhile, Mahaica resident, Omesh Chetram also made a court appearance for allegedly breaking into a Snackette and removing several items.

The charge against the 40-year-old stated that between August 16 and 21, he broke into a Snackette owned by Natalie Howard and removed a gas cylinder valued $13,000, an electrical deep fryer valued $22,000 and an electrical mug valued $3,500, a total value of $38,500.

Objections to bail being granted were made once again by prosecutor Bostwick, who noted that since the accused has no fixed place of abode, the possibility exists that if granted bail, he will not return to court for trial.

After initially pleading not guilty to the offence, Chetram changed his plea to guilty after being told that he would be remanded to prison until his next court date, the man asked Magistrate Judy Latchman to allow him to plead guilty to the offence.

However, agreeing to re-read the charge to allow the man change his plea, Magistrate Latchman was met with silence from the accused, who stood staring at the Magistrate as she requested him to enter a plea of either guilty or not guilty.

After getting no response from Chetram, the Magistrate inquired from the man whether he wanted to plead guilty to the offence, to which he responded in the negative and a not guilty plea was recorded. Both Connell and Chetram were subsequently placed on remand and are expected to return to court on September 8 for their respective court cases.