A Chauncey man who is accused of burglarising a house in Cedars and possession of stolen goods in his village has been denied bail for two weeks as police try to locate items allegedly stolen from the property.
Kent Blake, of Chauncey, returns to the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court on April 2 for bail review.
On Wednesday, he appeared before the same court and pleaded not guilty to charges that he:
on March 19, at Chauncey, knowing or believing that one pair of blue scissors, one black handle scissors and two pairs of gold plated earrings to be stolen goods, did dishonestly receive same for his own benefit;
on March 13, at Cedars, without lawful excuse, damaged one 4’x4′ aluminium and glass window, valued at EC$500, one 3’x3′ plastic and glass window, valued at EC$500, one 4’x4′ metal burglar bar, valued at EC$500, total value $1,500, the property of Shellene Lewis, of Cedars, and was reckless as to whether such property would be damaged; and that
on March 13, at Cedars, he entered the dwelling house of Shellene Lewis, of Cedars, as a trespasser and stole items valued at $4,635.75, Lewis’ property.
The stolen items include an Acer Chromebook, charger and Chromebook case, a portable battery pack, a compressor, a Wi-Fi router, exercise equipment, including a digital hula hoop and dumbbells, hand tools and cosmetics.
Prosecutor Corlene Samuel objected to his bail, saying that the south central police division was plagued by a series of burglaries, from Calliaqua to Biabou.
She said that Blake was of interest in the matters and the police were conducting an investigation.
Samuel said that the police had recovered some of the items and believed that if granted bail, Blake would hinder their efforts to recover the other items.
The prosecutor asked that Blake be denied bail for two weeks in the first instance, adding that more than likely the investigation would be completed by then.
Asked by Senior Magistrate Colin John what he had to say about bail, Blake said he did not have much to say.
“Is up to alyo,” he told the court but later said he did not mind if bail included reporting to the police every day.
The defendant said that no one had come to see him while he was in police custody and that he had not had a shower for three days.
He said he had a pig and “certain things” that he would like to secure, adding that no one knows where he lives “down dey than the officers and dem”.
He asked that the officers take him to his home to secure his belongings.
John told the police to take Blake to his place to secure his items, saying he would not like people to steal the accused man’s items while the defendant is in custody.
However, Blake said that the items probably had already been stolen.
“Mr. Blake, you see how persons can feel when they are on the other side when their properties are being interfered with?” John told the accused man.
Blake said that he had $21 at the police station “and dem tek um”.