Apr 08 - Drunken South District Burglar Sent To Jail
A local man was sent to prison for 16 months this morning at the Supreme Court after he admitted entering a colonial property in the South District whilst its occupants, a family of four, were asleep upstairs. Gavin Key, aged 34, of Vineyard House, had previously pleaded guilty to the burglary which took place during the early hours of 20th January, 2014.
Chief Justice Anthony Dudley, who sentenced the defendant, heard the prosecution explain how Key had forced open a patio door in order to enter the large residence. He had then entered through a window and proceeded to remove a 55-inch plasma TV from a wall bracket. Key later made his way upstairs to the bedrooms shining a torch into a bedroom and startling the sleeping couple who went on to challenge him. Key told the occupants that he had “made a mistake” and left the residence immediately.
During a forensic examination of the property by the RGP, fingerprints on the TV and a shoeprint were discovered leading investigators to arrest Key the following day.
In mitigation, Justin Phillips, who appeared for the defendant, said that his client had been “severely intoxicated” during the burglary and that his actions did not indicate that it had been a planned offence. However, in a few lively exchanges, Chief Justice Dudley said he doubted both these claims arguing that it would be difficult for someone to remove a large TV from a bracket whilst extremely intoxicated and that the use of an implement to open the patio door indicated that at least some rudimentary planning occurred before the offence.
The Chief Justice noted that, although nothing had been stolen from the property and no damage had resulted from the burglary, it was nevertheless a “serious offence.” He also noted that the defendant had several previous convictions for commercial burglaries.
Graceanne Gear appeared for the Crown.
