A man has been ordered to pay his former landlady for a refrigerator he stole from her apartment.

Leonard Butterfield, 39, from Devonshire, admitted stealing the fridge, valued at $450, when he appeared in Magistrates’ Court yesterday.

The court was told that Butterfield lived in one of Virginia Goodchild’s apartments, also in Devonshire, for less than a year between 2018 and 2019.

When Ms Goodchild inspected the property after Butterfield had moved out, she noticed the refrigerator, which was there when he moved into the apartment, was missing.

When questioned by police, Butterfield admitted to removing the fridge from the apartment to get it repaired.

Magistrate Tyrone Chin ordered Butterfield to pay Ms Goodchild $450 for the missing refrigerator.

Ms Goodchild leaving the island, as well as Butterfield’s initial denial of the offence, contributed to the case being delayed many times.

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