By FARRAH JOHNSON
Tribune Staff Reporter
fjohnson@tribunemedia.net
AN ex-convict who admitted breaking into a woman’s house and stealing an assortment of building supplies was yesterday sentenced to nine months in prison.
Police arrested Jamal Smith, 35, after they found more than $300 worth of items that had been reported stolen in his possession on September 21.
The court was told that on the day in question, the complainant told police that an unknown person had broken into her Pitt Lane residence between 7.45am and 4pm when no one was at home.
After she filed her complaint, an investigation was launched. The prosecution said when police searched Smith’s home, they found all of the missing items which included a $125 toilet set, four bags of sand, a joint compound and a five gallon bucket of paint together valued at $359.20.
Smith was subsequently arrested. When he was interviewed by police, he admitted the offence.
When he appeared before Assistant Chief Magistrate Subusola Swain yesterday, the accused pleaded guilty to housebreaking and stealing.
However, he claimed he took the items and sold them to a man he knew because the place he moved them from looked abandoned.
After accepting his guilty plea, Magistrate Swain noted that Smith had been convicted of a similar offence in the past. She said given his record she would increase his penalty and sentenced him to nine months at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.
Meanwhile, two men who were accused of breaking into the same convenience store on two separate occasions were each granted bail before their trials.
In the first case, police said Shawn Brown broke into T&K Convenience store on August 6 and stole $995.33 worth of items, including cases of Vita Malt, ramen noodles, Chef Boyardee soup, Gatorade and Snickers bars.
He denied the allegations during his hearing before Senior Magistrate Carolyn Vogt-Evans and his case was adjourned to December 1 for trial.
Prosecutors also alleged that Don Brown broke into the same convenience store a month later on September 11, when he also allegedly stole an assortment of food items totaling nearly $1,000.
He also pleaded not guilty to shopbreaking and stealing. Like Shawn Brown, he returns to court December 1 for trial.
Both accused were each granted $7,000 bail and were placed on a 9pm-7am curfew. Magistrate Vogt Evans said the men would be also outfitted with monitoring devices until their case was completed.
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