Jamaican sentenced for robbing PoS jewellery stores

A JAMAICAN man who admitted to breaking into several jewellery stores in Port of Spain because he was angry, as he felt he was cheated out of the true worth of the gold he sold to them, was sentenced on Friday to a total of 16 years’ hard labour.

But because Magistrate Nizam Khan ordered him to serve all five sentences at the same time, Peter Young will only serve four years’ hard labour.

Young pleaded guilty to five charges that on various dates between January and October, 2015, he broke into at least two malls in Port of Spain and stole gold jewellery from three stores.

According to the facts read out by police prosecutor, Sgt Rawle Ramharrack, Young, 36, of Caribbean Villas, Port of Spain, on January 8-9, 2015, broke into a store in Aboutique Mall and stole $250,000 worth of gold jewellery. He was also charged with breaking into the mall.

On September 12, he broke into Town Centre Mall, but nothing was stolen and he was only charged with breaking into the mall.

The next month, on October 13-15, he broke into a jewellery store on Frederick Street and stole $259,022 worth of gold jewellery . Days later, on October 21-22, he broke into a jewellery store at Excellent City Centre in Port of Spain and stole approximately $400,000 worth of gold jewellery. None of the jewellery was ever recovered.

In pleading guilty and accepting the facts, Young claimed – in his own mitigation plea, as he was unrepresented and wanted to “get on with the case” – he sold the gold to the stores but did not get the $1.9 million it was worth.

Young said an ounce of the 24-carat gold he traded was worth US$1,800 but he only got $37,00 from one store; $123,00 from another; and $800 and $900 for his gold.

“I was robbed,” he said, adding that he worked hard in the Amazon to mine the 11 pounds and three ounces of gold, and risked his life because he did not know the effects the cyanide and citric acid he used would have on his health. He now takes medication twice per day and uses eyedrops frequently.

He said he left Jamaica for Guyana some five years ago and spent two years in Berbice and Demerara mining for gold, albeit without a licence.

He said he tried to Fed-Ex the gold to the United States but could not because he needed a special import/export licence, which he did not have. Instead, he decided to come to Trinidad, after he was unable to trade his gold in St Maarten.

Young said he “hooked up” with the stores in Trinidad and when he didn’t get what his gold was worth, he tried to make a report at the Belmont Police Station, but was unable to press charges since he had no receipts for the gold he sold.

Asked by Khan what possessed him to break into and rob the stores, Young said, “I felt robbed. I was angry. They did not want to pay me. What I did, I did out of anger and rage.” He also claimed to have had help in breaking into the stores.

For the last three years, while in prison – he also has another conviction for larceny and breaking into an office in San Fernando, for which he was sentenced to five years and has appealed – he said he has taken anger management and Bible courses which helped him deal with his anger issues.

In sentencing him, Khan said he took into consideration his guilty plea and his efforts in prison, but emphasised that he could not condone Young's actions, especially since stealing has become far too prevalent.

“Law and order must be kept. You can’t take matters into your own hands. Stealing must be discouraged,” the magistrate said, adding that the court system was set up to settle differences between parties.

Khan said for TT to continue to be the best place on earth, standards must be set.

For breaking into Town Centre Mall, Young was sentenced to two years’ hard labour and he received the same jail term for breaking into Aboutique Mall. For breaking into the store in Aboutique Mall he was sentenced to four years’ hard labour and the same term for breaking into the store on Frederick Street and the one in Excellent City Centre.