A 26-year-old clothes vendor who pleaded guilty to simple larceny was on Friday sentenced to two years imprisonment.

Jason Thomas called “Curl up,” of Diamond Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara, was sentenced by Magistrate Dylon Bess at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, after presentation of a probation report.

Thomas admitted that on June 22, 2019, at Regent and Wellington Streets, Georgetown, he stole a $120,000 gold band from Clarian Rambarran. The father of two told the court that he committed the offence because he was frustrated and needed “milk money” to give his child’s mother.

The man told the court, “I got two children and I was so frustrated when I woke up the morning my child’s mother called and said she would summons me if I don’t get milk money by the afternoon.”

On June 24, 2019, Thomas made his first court appearance before Principal Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus and pleaded guilty to the charge.
However, the magistrate recused herself from the matter and transferred it to Magistrate Bess for sentencing.

On Friday afternoon, the report was read in court by probation officer Annand Sharma, who explained that Thomas smokes cannabis and would often gamble away his money.
As regards his record, the probation officer said that Thomas was previously charged for cannabis possession and was sentenced to six months of community service.

Magistrate Bess, after considering Thomas’ early guilty plea, imposed the sentence.
Particulars of the offence state that on the day in question, the victim was crossing the intersection of Regent and Wellington Streets, when Thomas walked up beside her and pulled the gold band off her right hand.

An alarm was raised and a police patrol apprehended Thomas. He was searched and the gold band was recovered in his pants pocket.

“Everyone makes mistakes in life… She get back her gold band,” Thomas had told the court.