Vendor who stole gun, ammo from guard jailed for 3 years

A man who confessed to stealing a firearm from a security guard attached to Sheriff Security has been handed a three-year prison sentence for the offence of larceny.
Appearing before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Wednesday, plantain chip vendor Mawali Clarke, 33, pleaded guilty to the charge which stated that, on December 25, at Bel Air Avenue in Georgetown, he stole a 12-gauge shotgun with three cartridges, worth $353,000, from Toussaint Williams. The items belong to Sheriff Security.

On the day in question, Williams was on duty at a location when he saw Clarke vomiting and went to his assistance. He invited Clarke into the premises he was securing, thereafter leaving him behind to get water from a pipe. Clarke, however, stole the weapon and made good his escape during that time.
Williams reported the theft to the Police, and Clarke, when arrested, took ranks to Plum Park in Sophia, Greater Georgetown, where the loaded gun was recovered in a clump of bushes.
Unrepresented by legal counsel, Clarke begged the Chief Magistrate for leniency, claiming that he unlawfully took the firearm because Williams’s conduct was unprofessional and careless. He also told the Magistrate: “I know it was something of value, and I needed money at that point in time.”
In the end, a three-year jail sentence was imposed on Clarke. (G1)