Phone thief jailed for 2 years

A 22-year-old man, who admitted to snatching a man’s cellular phone, was jailed for two years when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
Oswald Cumberbatch, of Lot 86 Laing Avenue, Georgetown, stood before Magistrate Faith McGusty and admitted to the charge which stated that on July 2, 2019, at Croal Street, Stabroek, Georgetown, while using personal violence, he robbed Ansar Abdul of a cellular phone valued at $120,000 and a phone case valued at $2,000.
The prosecution’s case stated that on July 2 at about 08:00h, the Virtual Complainant (VC) was walking along Croal Street, Georgetown, in the vicinity of the Route 40 minibus park, when he was approached by Cumberbatch who pushed him to the ground and relieved him of the articles. The defendant then tried to escape but he was grabbed by the VC and persons in the area. He was handed over to the Police.
In plea of mitigation, the man told the Court, “I use to work at the wharf but I get stab up by one of the guys who worked there.” He further said that after receiving the injuries, he was unable to perform any duties like before and was left unemployed.
“Is off of hunger and temptation caused me to rob the man, my daughter birthday is tomorrow (Thursday) and I’m very sorry for what I did, I know it’s wrong,” Cumberbatch said in mitigation.
Magistrate McGusty, before sentencing the man, told him, “If it had not been for the man who held onto you, then you would’ve gone off singing Hallelujah”. She then sentenced him to two years imprisonment.