A St George’s barber has been fined for dishonestly receiving boating supplies, using the credit account of a former employer.

John O’Connor, 28, also pleaded guilty to charges connected to an unrelated high-speed chase which took place last October.

Magistrates’ Court heard that, on June 3 last year, O’Connor attended AP Marine where he purchased $44.11 of goods. Asked how he was going to pay for the items, he said it should be charged to the account of Charles Renaud.

Mr Renaud later visited AP Marine himself and, after being told about the purchase, identified O’Connor on CCTV footage as a former employee.

Police, who later arrested O’Connor at his home, found one of the purchased items on his kitchen counter.

After pleading guilty, O’Connor told the court that the victim’s son had told him to make the purchase, and he had taken the items home because Mr Renaud had left his office.

The court also heard that several months later, on October 6, police, responding to a report of a burglary in progress, became involved in a high-speed chase with O’Connor who was eventually stopped and arrested.

O’Connor pleaded guilty to charges of driving in a dangerous manner and without a driver’s licence, and apologised for his behaviour, but said the initial burglary accusation was the result of a misunderstanding and had been dropped.

Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo fined O’Connor $1,000 for dishonestly obtaining goods, $1,000 for driving dangerously and $150 for not having a valid licence.

He further disqualified the defendant from driving all vehicles for a period of two years.

• It is The Royal Gazette’s policy not to allow comments on stories regarding criminal court cases. As we are legally liable for any slanderous or defamatory comments made on our website, this move is for our protection as well as that of our readers.