Georgetown man ruins Vincy Mas for visitor, jailed by Magistrate Burnett

A man who ruined Vincy Mas for a visitor has been sent to jail for five years.

Devon Baptiste, a 24-year-old labourer of Georgetown, appeared before magistrate Rickie Burnett at the Mesopotamia Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, July 12, charged with the offence of burglary of the house of Xavier Warrican of Biabou.

The court heard between 9:45 p.m. on Saturday, July 8 and 2 a.m. on Sunday, July 9, Baptiste, who goes by the alias “Barto,” broke into an apartment at Warrican’s house, rented by Kendis Trancoso, a businesswoman from Trinidad.

After breaking in, Baptiste stole one black and silver tablet, valued at EC$1,294 and a silver Apple tablet, valued at $5,200, property of Trancoso.

Trancoso, 26 years old, told the court that it was her first time visiting St Vincent for Carnival and because of the ordeal, she would not be coming back to these shores in a hurry.

She also stated that she didn’t get the chance to enjoy Carnival because of what transpired. She then commended the police for their quick response in dealing with the matter. The apartment building at Biabou was equipped with surveillance cameras and the items were recovered and handed over in good condition on Carnival Tuesday (July 11) by Baptiste at Georgetown.

Prosecutor Delroy Tittle assured Trancoso that she was welcome to come back to St Vincent at any time and she should not allow what had happened to deter her from coming back.

On handing down his judgement, magistrate Burnett told Baptiste that where he’s living in Georgetown and where the victim was in Biabou is a fair distance and he also had previous convictions for offences of a similar nature.

Also charged in the matter was Shemiah Charles of Georgetown, who was found guilty of dishonestly receiving the said Apple laptop stolen by Baptiste. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 12 months in prison.(CJ)