Layou resident found guilty of stealing smartphone

For stealing a smartphone, Troy Velox has been ordered to pay $600 forthwith or spend the next two months in jail.{{more}}

The Layou resident was charged with the theft of a mini Samsung Galaxy cellular phone, which he stole on August 6, 2014 from the A&T Store in Kingstown.

According to the facts read in the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court yesterday, virtual complainant Leorol Gibson took her phone to the A&T store to be charged.

She plugged it in and left it charging at the cashier’s desk before returning to where she worked.

Velox told the court that he was in the store and saw the phone on the cash register desk. He stated that he unplugged the phone and proceeded to ask if it belonged to anyone and when no one answered, he put the phone into his pocket and left the store.

Magistrate Rechanne Browne-Matthias asked Velox if he was aware that the A&T Store was equipped with video cameras.

“If I look at the video, will I see you asking if the phone belonged to anyone?” Browne-Matthias asked the defendant.

Velox made an attempt to continue his tale when the magistrate repeated her question.

After pausing for a while, he answered no and said that he “made a mistake.” He then admitted to picking up the phone and placing it into his back pocket before exiting the store and taking it home.

“Those kinds of mistakes will send you to prison,” the magistrate said.

The prosecution revealed that Velox was on a bond already, but the details of the bond were not available in court.

When he began objecting to the sentence, Browne-Matthias warned Velox that he could be subjected to a worse sentence if she had the details of the bond which he has broken.(BK)