A FORTY-three-year-old taxi driver was sentenced to 36 months imprisonment after he was found guilty of snatching a woman’s chain.Gregory Howes of Lot 60 Recht Door Zee, Parfait Harmonie, West Bank Demerara appeared before Magistrate Judy Latchman at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

The allegation read that on November 8, 2014 at Regent Street, Georgetown, he stole one gold chain valued $65,000 from Natasha Sheriff.
The facts read that on the day in question, at around 14:30hrs, Sheriff was exiting a shoes store when Howes came up and snatched the chain off her neck and started running. He then mounted a bicycle, but a car came along and began to brace his bicycle. The driver of that car was Police Constable Peters who told the court that he saw everything that transpired when he testified as a witness.
Sheriff told the court that nothing was blocking her view from seeing the defendant and there was no one else there.
Police Prosecutor Shellon Daniels told the court that when the defendant reached the Brickdam Police Station and a search was conducted on his person, the chain was found in his possession. She noted that the defendant did not deny that the chain was found on his person nor that he was the person on the scene.
Before sentencing the defendant, the magistrate noted that there was no need for a confrontation or an identification parade since he was caught red handed. Magistrate Latchman then noted the seriousness and prevalence of the offence, and the need to prohibit others from committing such offences.
In a stern voice, the city magistrate said, “Dare you ever snatch anyone’s chain again!”