Bevon French, 37, of 143 Crown Street, Queenstown, was yesterday sentenced to five years imprisonment on three charges.
But he will serve three years in prison, as the sentences will run concurrently. He pleaded guilty to charges of break and enter and larceny, escape from lawful custody and attempt to commit a felony.
He appeared before Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson and pleaded guilty to the charges, which stated that on January 25, he broke into the dwelling house of Tendai Barrington and stole one microwave valued $30,000 one stereo system valued $150,000, among other items at a total value of $240,000.
On February 1, at Prashad Nagar Police Outpost, while being in lawful custody pending charges for break and enter and larceny, he escaped from custody. And on February 4, he attempted to break in the day care centre of Paula Raphael.
The defendant said he lives downstairs of the building where the virtual complainant lives and on the day in question he broke out the wood from the virtual complainant’s back door to gain entry inside the house. He admitted that he stole all the items from Barrington and sold them.
“I am a recovering drug addict but recently I had a relapse and since then I never catch back myself. I sell the things and used most of the money to buy cocaine” said French.
Assistant Superintendent Denise Griffith, prosecuting, said the defendant was arrested on a break and enter and larceny charge and was at the Prashad Nagar Police Outpost. She said the defendant asked to use the washroom and after he was allowed, he ran through the door and jumped the fence and escaped.
Griffith said the defendant was subsequently arrested inside a day care centre.
The defendant denied jumping the police fence and claimed that an officer asked him to sweep the station yard and in doing so he was tempted to escape.
“I never ask to use no washroom. I was lying in my cell when the officer in charge asked me to sweep the yard. I went and sweep the yard and she wasn’t even supervising me. She went watching television so I just used the opportunity to get away” the defendant said.
French said after he escaped from the police outpost he was tempted again to break in the day care centre. He said the window was partly cracked so he cracked it some more to gain entry. He said the police arrested him inside the building.