Carpenter gets 18 months for breaking into house, stealing over $1M in items

After pleading guilty to a break and enter and larceny charge, 32-year-old Vishal Jones also called “Tattoo man” of Zeeburg, West Coast Demerara (WCD), was slapped with an 18-month jail sentence on Monday.

Police stated that between November 17 and 20, 2023, at Regent Street, Georgetown, he broke into Hazel Thompson’s home, while accompanied by others, and stole a quantity of clothing and shoes worth a combined $900,000, a TCL television valued at $100,000, and a microwave valued at $50,000.
At the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts, the Police prosecutor informed Magistrate Rhondell Weever that Jones, a carpenter, and other individuals could be seen on CCTV camera breaking into the woman’s house before Jones submitted his guilty plea.
The prosecutor also revealed that Jones had admitted to the offence at the time of his arrest.
Reports indicate that Jones was charged on several occasions for similar offences. He was also previously convicted for such offences and served time in prison.
According to reports, in December 2019, he was referred to the Adult Drug Treatment Court after he admitted to stealing a pressure washer to buy cocaine and food. He reportedly sold the pressure washer valued at $160,000 for $4000.
Meanwhile, last week Friday, a vagrant who confessed to breaking into Thompson’s residence was also jailed for 18 months by the same Magistrate
. He is Mark Birch, 41, a father of one, of Princes Street, Wortmanville, Georgetown.
During his court appearance, Birch provided the presiding Magistrate with an explanation for his actions, telling her, “I was really hungry. I just take two things. I tek the microwave, my worship. I apologise for what I have done. Be lenient with me.”
Although Birch informed the court that he resided at the Princes Street address with his grandmother, the prosecutor said he is a vagrant who lives in Bourda Market, Georgetown.
The prosecution said that on November 17, 2023, after the victim left for the United States of America, her son-in-law locked up her Regent Street home, leaving her belongings inside.
On November 20, 2023, nevertheless, the man went back to the property and discovered that the house had been broken into, multiple goods were stolen, and several louvre panes had been removed.
He informed the Police of the break-in immediately and surveillance footage from the residence showed Birch and two other males breaking into Thompson’s home and carting off the items.
The prosecutor said that Brich took Police officers to the location of the television after admitting to the crime. None of the other items were found.
Birch’s prior conviction for a comparable offence and the frequency of the house break-ins were taken into account by the Magistrate, who sentenced him to 18 months in jail.
Magistrate Weever commenced the sentence at a starting point of 24 months but deducted six months for his early guilty plea. Birch had served six months in prison for the earlier crime.