3 yrs jail for guard who stole steel beams

A SECURITY guard was Friday sent to jail for three years for stealing $160,925 in steel beams from a hardware where he worked.

Ricardo Furmilia, 35, pleaded guilty before senior magistrate Cherril-Ann Antoine in the San Fernando Magistrates’ Court. On August 24, he stole 120 pieces of cross beams, 20 pieces of “I” beams, five lengths of Z purlin and a steel door. Prosecutor PC Cleyon Seedan said Furmilia was the guard at Persad’s Industrial Ltd, of Cipero Road, Cross Crossing.

The proprietor, Suresh Persad, discovered the material missing from the store. Mon Repos police investigated and arrested Furmilia. Only 20 cross beams were recovered, the court heard. Told that he violated the trust reposed on him, Antoine asked Furmilia how he managed to steal the steel beams. He replied, “ I asked somebody to remove it for me. No, I didn’t get money for it.” The magistrate heard that Furmilia works for Special Elite Security Ltd and that Persad had requested that he be the one assigned to work at his hardware. He had no previous criminal record, but Antoine told Furmilia that he violated the position of trust Persad placed in him, and, only 20 pieces were recovered. “Sir, you are looking at a maximum of ten years in jail,” she commented. She ordered that he serve three, with hard labour.