A 26-year-old Kitty, Georgetown man with a long record of theft-related crimes, was on Friday sentenced to two years in prison after admitting to yet another offence.
Shaquille Mentore appeared before Magistrate Annette Singh at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts, where he pleaded guilty to a charge of breaking and entering with larceny.
The court heard that on Sunday, Mentore broke into the Bel Air Park residence of Luciana Oliveira and stole a computer valued at $200,000, two backpacks worth $9000, and $50,000 in cash. According to the prosecutor, the victim was awakened by strange noises coming from the lower flat of her home. After checking her cameras, she observed Mentore leaving through her front door before jumping her fence and escaping with the items.
A report was subsequently made to the police, who launched an investigation. Mentore was later arrested and, during an audio and video interview, admitted to the crime. He later led investigators to Leopold Street, where all of the stolen items were recovered.
When asked by Magistrate Singh why she should not impose the maximum penalty, Mentore offered only that he was sorry for what he had done. The prosecutor, however, reminded the court that Mentore had served time and was fined for similar offences before.
After considering his record, Magistrate Singh sentenced him to two years’ imprisonment.
This latest conviction adds to a long string of brushes with the law. In January 2019, Mentore was sentenced by Acting Chief Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus after admitting to stealing a $140,000 cellphone from Nicholas Gangaram on Croal Street.
A year later, in February 2020, he was again charged after robbing a woman, Louisiana Campbell, of a bag valued at $49,240 along William Street, Campbellville.
Mentore and his now-dead accomplice, Randy Bowen, attempted to flee after snatching the bag but were chased by public-spirited citizens into the yard of a licensed firearm holder.
Shots were fired, fatally wounding Bowen, while Mentore was shot in both legs.
After being discharged from the hospital, he was brought before the court, fined $70,000, and placed under probationary supervision for 12 months.
His criminal activity continued into 2021 when he was refused bail and remanded to prison after being charged with three separate robberies in Georgetown.
He pleaded not guilty to those charges but was remanded to prison until August of that year.
In March 2021, he was once again fined $70,000 after admitting to stealing Campbell’s bag in a separate incident that occurred along Duncan Street, Georgetown.
Despite repeated arrests, fines, and even jail time, Mentore has continued on a path of crime.
