16-year-old boy goes on shopping spree with stolen debit card

A 16-year-old boy went on a quite a shopping spree after he stole a debit card from a man who had given him in a ride in his car.{{more}}

Kareem Abbott, of Belair, pleaded guilty on four counts of theft when he appeared at the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court on Monday.

He pleaded guilty to stealing two Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) cards, a debit card and a driver’s license, property of Neroy Sam of Arnos Vale on November 22, 2013.

According to the facts, at about 3 a.m., Sam gave Abbott a ride in his car from Heritage Square to Belair.

Abbott was seated in the back of the vehicle.

Later that same morning, at about 8:45, Abbott went to the Super J supermarket and used Sam’s debit card to purchase two bottles of Hennessy Cognac priced at $274.66.

Following his first purchase, Abbott then went to Subway restaurant and bought two foot-long sandwiches and two drinks, totalling $53.48.

Abbott’s escapade then led him to Digicel, where he purchased an 8320 model smartphone, $60 phone credit, a sim card, a four gigabyte memory card, a phone case and a pair of earphones, totalling $833.

Abbott’s shopping spree came to a grinding halt when he went to the Timeout Cafe at the Cruise Ship Terminal and ordered a pack of cigarettes, a Cola Champagne and Hennessy drink.

When he presented the debit card to the cashier to pay for the items, the transaction did not go through. The cashier then contacted the police on the matter and Abbott was taken to the Criminal Investigations Department.

Addressing the court, prosecutor Assistant Superintendent of Police Glenford Gregg said while it was not his duty to mitigate, he had spoken to Abbott, who had given him the assurance that he would pay for the items within two months.

When asked with whom does he live, Abbott told magistrate Rechanne Browne-Matthias that he was renting an apartment and works at an air conditioning business.

The magistrate said she was not going to give him two months to repay the money. She ordered that he repay the money by today, Friday or spend six months in jail.

Abbott was also bonded for one year in the sum of $2500.(KW)