MAGISTRATE Judy Latchman recited one of the Ten Commandments to a defendant yesterday, telling him: “Thou shall not steal, whether it’s brand new or old it’s not yours.”

The magistrate was remonstrating with Shawn Wilson, 31, of Lot 12 Sandy Babb Street, Kitty, Georgetown, who was sentenced to 54 months imprisonment for simple larceny.
He was remanded to prison on two other charges of break and enter and larceny.
Particulars of the offence for which he was convicted said, on Thursday, May 2, he stole two drill bits valued $100,000, property of Ganga Kishna.
Police Corporal Jomo Nichols, prosecuting, told the Court that, on May 2, about 16:00 hrs a family friend was at the home of the virtual complainant when he heard a noise and, on looking through a window, saw the defendant, jumping the fence with the two articles in his hands.
The defendant claimed he asked Kishna, whom he referred to as his friend, for the old metal. But, after he took it, the owner claimed he stole it.
In one of the other two cases, it is alleged that Wilson, between Saturday, April 27 and Sunday, April 28, also in Sandy Babb Street, broke and entered a butcher shop and stole 16 bottles of olive oil, 20 boxes of soya milk, 48 tins of energy drinks, 24 tins of tuna, six bottles of vegetable oil, 160 pounds of beef, 100 pounds of chicken, one Blackberry cellular phone and $81,000 cash, all worth $416,120 and belonging to Roy Gittens.
The next allegation against Wilson is that he stole, from Gittens, one car jack, one electrical circle saw, one Nokia cellular phone, two bottles vegetable oil and $10,000 cash, making a total loss of $51,840.
After the Administration of Justice Act (AJA) was applied, Wilson pleaded not guilty to those charges, maintaining that he bought some of the articles mentioned.
However, he was refused bail in those cases, which will be called, again, on May 15.
Meantime, a summons was issued for Gittens.