A TWENTY-EIGHT-year-old Mocha, East Bank Demerara resident accused of stealing from his brother to gain his attention on Friday, appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown’s Magistrates’ Court.

Joseph Smith, a construction worker, is accused of breaking into the storeroom of Andre Dowling between October 8 and October 9 at Nelson Street, Mocha and stealing a generator and pressure washer, which together value $180,000.

“Your worship, I just steal the thing to get my brother attention,” the unpresented Smith said as he pleaded guilty to the charge.

He explained that he took the items from his older brother because he had refused to give him “lil wuk and ain’t paying him no attention”.

However, his older brother Dowling, who was also present in court, explained to the magistrate that he would often take his bother with him, since he is a self-employed carpenter, but Smith would often wander away.

“He can’t focus! Because when I carry my bother to work with me, he always wandering away from the worksite… soon as I turn my back, he missing,” the frustrated older brother said.

The chief magistrate scolded Smith about his actions and told him “Before you make a decision, you must sit down and think it through…. You’re a young man, you need to focus.”

McLennan discharged the matter against Smith and ordered him to complete eight weeks of community service or spend six months in prison.