A man who yesterday admitted stealing alcohol, this morning confessed to a series of other offences, including cashing stolen cheques, when he appeared in Magistrates’ Court.

Keivon Scott pleaded guilty to a series of dishonesty offences related to incidents in April, along with a charge of stealing a woman’s handbag.

The court heard that on April 19, Scott entered the Money Shop on Dundonald Street and sought to cash a $390 Bank of Butterfield cheque made out to himself. The following day, he returned with a $755 cheque and again had it cashed.

When he returned to the Money Shop with another cheque made out for $750 on April 21 store staff became suspicious and contacted the owner of the cheque to ensure they were legitimate.

The owner of the cheques, however, said she knew nothing about the transactions and, looking at her chequebook, discovered that five cheques had been removed. The Bermuda Police Service and the Bank of Butterfield were contacted, and other Money Shop branches warned.

On April 25, Scott attended the Warwick branch of the Money Shop, seeking to cash an $820 cheque. The cashier conducted the transaction, but after giving Scott the funds, recalled the warning and contacted the bank. It was later discovered that Scott had attended the branch previously and cashed a $690 cheque.

While Scott initially denied the offences, he pleaded guilty to ten charges relating to the incidents.

He also admitted stealing a woman’s handbag and its contents, valued at $400, in a separate incident on May 2.

The pleas came a day after Scott admitted stealing several bottles of alcohol, worth a total of $152.50, from a Pembroke home.

The court heard that at around 9pm on September 4, the complainant left his apartment to go to a friend’s house and, in his hurry, failed to lock his front door.

An hour later, he was contacted by a neighbour who said that the defendant was looking for the complainant to ask him for money.

After receiving the call, the complainant returned home to find that a cabinet that had contained alcohol was open and several miniature bottles were missing.

In total, five bottles of vodka and one bottle of rum, worth a total of $152.50, had been removed.

Prosecutor Carrington Mahoney noted that Scott had multiple previous convictions for similar offences including burglary, theft and stealing.

Scott apologised for his actions, explaining that he committed the offence because of his drug addiction.

“I have struggled for years with heroin,” he said. “It’s not that I wanted to do it. It’s an ongoing struggle. Drug addiction is a very, very difficult thing to overcome.”

Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo remanded Scott into custody, ordering reports on the defendant and ordering that he observe Drug Treatment Court.

Scott is expected to return to court for sentencing on November 24.

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