AFTER being on remand for the past five months, a 21-year-old auto mechanic was on Tuesday sentenced to four years’ jail for robbing a businessman of $3.3M at gunpoint in the vicinity of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) building on Brickdam.

Shaquille Wilburg, of Public Road, Buxton, East Coast Demerara, admitted to the robbery under arms charge before city Magistrate Annett Singh after initially pleading not guilty..
Wilburg confessed that on October 13, 2017, on Brickdam while being armed with a gun, he robbed Linden Wilson of $3M in cash along with two cellphones, valued $300,000.

The unrepresented man pleaded with the magistrate, saying he did not want to waste the court’s time any further. The matter was prosecuted by police officer Visram Ramjattan.
According to the facts, the victim was walking along Brickdam towards the NIS when he was confronted by Wilburg who was armed with a gun.

The victim handed over the articles and Wilburg made good his escape.
The incident was captured on a CCTV camera. Investigators after reviewing the video footage arrested Wilburg and he was positively pointed out by the victim during an identification parade.

The magistrate during sentencing told the accused: “Crime is only going to take you so far. It is either death or prison.” She encouraged him to be rehabilitated.