From the Courts
July 23, 2004
Mechanic jailed for burglary

A twenty-four year old mechanic of Murray’s Village has been jailed for burglary.
Allain Williams began an eight-month sentence last Tuesday when he appeared before the Serious Offences Court. He pleaded guilty to entering Andrew’s Refrigeration and Conditioning Workshop at Arnos Vale between July 13-14 and stealing tools and electrical supplies valued $7,740. {{more}}
The court heard that on Tuesday July 13, Andrew Miller, owner of Andrew’s Refrigeration and Conditioning, secured his business place and went home around 10.00 p.m. The following morning, one of his workmen went to the workshop where he discovered tools and other items missing.
The police, acting on information, took Williams into custody. During investigations, he took investigators to a garage at Arnos Vale where they recovered a large quantity of sockets, a power drill, a sanding machine, a number of screw-drivers, wrenches, a pair of snips and other items.
When asked why he committed the crime, Williams told Chief Magistrate Simone Churaman that a man set him up to steal, telling him what items he must steal. Asked what he did with the stolen items, he said he took them to the man who set him up to do the crime.
Asked how he earned his living, Williams said he worked as a mechanic.
Asked what was his payment for the crime, Williams said he got $110.
“You stole seven thousand and get one hundred and ten dollars?” the Chief Magistrate queried.
Before imposing sentence, Chief Magistrate Churaman said she considered his guilty plea and the fact that items were recovered. But, she said, the aggravating features were the cost of the items stolen, that the crime was committed at night, that he had previous convictions and the penalties seemed not to have served as a deterrent.