DAMIEN Austin appeared on Monday before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry, charged with breaking into a BelAir businessman’s home and stealing a laptop; and Dexter Cummings appeared before the same magistrate charged with receiving the stolen property.

“My Worship, is nah me break into de house. I just received de ting, but I guh plead guilty,” Austin said when the magistrate read him the charge.

The allegation is that between March 11 and 12, at Bel Air, Austin broke and entered the dwelling home of Mahindra Carpen and stole therefrom one Apple laptop and one iPod, to the total value of $320,000, along with other personal items valued at $150,000.

Police Prosecutor Bharrat Mangru noted that the Carpen home consists of top and bottom flats; and he said that Carpen had, on March 11, secured his bottom flat and retired upstairs.

Mangru explained that Carpen, on March 12, noticed that his bottom eastern door and grill had been broken, and further checks revealed to him that the articles were missing from the home. The matter was reported to the police, and, acting on information, Austin was arrested, whereupon, he confessed to the offence and retuned the stolen items to the police.

Austin explained to the Magistrate that he had been given the laptop by a man named “Prakash” to unlock. “So I took it to Cummings, he said.

Based upon his explanation to the court, the magistrate entered a not guilty-plea based on his behalf.

Dexter Cummings, 52, was slapped with a charge detailing that on the day in question, he received an Apple laptop valued 260,000 property of Carpen, knowing same to be stolen or unlawfully obtained.

Cummings denied, while Austin explained, that he had taken the laptop to him to unlock, but the man told him that the laptop was stolen and returned the article.

Bail was granted to the accused Cummings, of 197 Oronoque Street, Georgetown, who was made to post $75,000 bail, while Austin was remanded to prison. The matter is transferred to City Magistrate Annett Singh for March 30.