By FARRAH JOHNSON
fjohnson@tribunemedia.net
THREE boys were brought to court yesterday, to face charges of breaking into a house to steal a gaming system.
The boys, ages 12,13, and 14, appeared before Senior Magistrate Derence Rolle-Davis after they were accused of breaking into Phillip Hanna’s residence in Pinewood Gardens on June 7 and stealing a PlayStation console and controller which were valued at $610.
Prosecutor Lakesia Moss said Mr Hanna told the police that he left his residence to go to work around 7.30am that day and left his aunt and her daughter in his home. He said when he returned home around 9.10pm that night, he discovered that one of his back bedrooms, which was the room closest to a derelict house next door, appeared to be broken into. Mr Hanna told officers the window blinds in the room were broken and a piece of sheetrock covering a hole in the wall for the air-conditioner was out of place. He also said his PlayStation had gone missing.
Mr Hanna said when he inquired around the neighbourhood about who had broken into his house, a woman informed him that she had seen two young boys with a green bag. She said that the boys had approached her son and asked him to hold the bag for them, but he told them no. She also told Mr Hanna that the boys called her son a punk and left.
Further investigations led to the arrest of the three defendants who were interviewed by police in the presence of their parents. During the interview, the 13-year-old said that he was with the other boys at the 14-year-old boy’s house. He said he watched the 12-year-old boost the 14-year-old over a fence so that he could go into the complainant’s house and steal the PlayStation and controller. In his interview, the 14-year-old told officers that the boys boosted him over the fence to his neighbour’s house and he poked his head in the house to steal the gaming system.
The 12-year-old boy also stated that he and the 13-year-old were in the front of the house when the 14-year-old went over the fence to his neighbour’s house and broke into it to steal the game console. He also admitted to helping the 14-year-old get over the fence.
During the hearing, all of the defendants pleaded guilty. After accepting their pleas, Magistrate Rolle-Davis adjourned the matter to June 23 for trial in the Juvenile Court. He also ordered that the stolen game system be returned to its rightful owner as soon as possible.
The juveniles were remanded to the Simpson Penn Centre for Boys in the interim.
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