`Compulsive burglar' jailed
addiction, has received a two-year prison sentence.
Kevin Sinclair Davis, of Fris-wells Hill, Pembroke, pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court to three counts of shopbreaking. The court heard that Davis caused more than $5,000 in damage during his spree.
Crown counsel Leighton Rochester told the court that at 4.30 a.m. on April 21, a burglar alarm was activated at Gosling Brothers Limited on Front Street.
Police attended the store and found the front door window was smashed by a concrete block to gain entry. Eight bottles of liquor, valued at $302, were stolen.
Davis, who was seen on Front Street five minutes before the shopbreaking, was arrested at 4:45 a.m. at his residence.
During a Police interview Davis told Police he sold the liquor for $200 and that some bottles broke inside the store.
The court heard that at 3 p.m. on that same day Davis was arrested on another matter and was cautioned and questioned about a break-in at People's Pharmacy.
Shortly before 1 a.m. on March 2, People's Pharmacy was broken into. A concrete block was used to smash the front door. Once inside 25 cartons of cigarettes, valued at $1,050, were stolen.
Davis told Police: "I didn't want to go to that black establishment, but I had to because I didn't have any transportation. I usually go down Front Street.'' The court also heard that Davis stole hundreds of dollars worth of meat from Pasta Basta restaurant on April 19 and broke into a Smith's Parish residence on the same day.
He also asked that 17 similar offences be taken into consideration.
Mr. Rochester told the court a delivery man discovered an air conditioning unit was removed from Pasta Basta, on Elliott Street, Pembroke, around 4.30 a.m. on April 19.
When Police arrived at the premises with the keyholder, they noticed that the cash register, cases of chicken, and a case of hamburger meat valued at $705 were missing.
A few minutes after, a resident from the Canal Road, Pembroke area told Police a man was seen briskly carrying a cash register which was disposed of in the informant's yard.
Mr. Rochester also said Davis entered a house on Jennings Road in Smith's Parish between 11 a.m. and 2.30 p.m. on April 19 and stole a silver Cartier watch and a carton of cigarettes valued at $120. The watch was recovered and handed to Police when Davis tried to dispose of it under a nightstand of a residence.
Lawyer Juan Wolffe, who represented Davis, told Puisne Judge Norma Wade-Miller that Davis had shown a genuine desire to right his wrongs.
Mr. Wolffe said Davis had fallen prey to drugs, but he was determined to cure himself.
The lawyer told Mrs. Justice Wade-Miller that a term of five years imprisonment would be excessive.
Mr. Wolffe cited several authorities where the convicted person received two or three years for offences similar to those committed by his client.