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“Thou shall not steal” – Magistrate tells Brazilian after imposing 50-month jail sentence
Valdo Ceza Frikho at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court
Kaieteur News – A 29-year-old Brazilian who had escaped from his country’s prison was sentenced to 50 months imprisonment, when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday to answer to a break-and-enter-and-larceny charge.
Valdo Ceza Frikho made his first court appearance before Principal Magistrate Judy Latchman, where he answered to the charge laid before him through a translator. The father of three pleaded guilty to the charge that stated between March 20, 2024 and March 21, 2024 at Charlotte Street, Georgetown, he broke into and entered Charlotte Hotel and stole two drills valued $70,000, one handbag valued $15,000, one speaker valued $50,000, a quantity of beef valued $20,000, three bottles whiskey valued $45,000, one wrist watch valued $30,000 and $150,000 cash, total value being $380,000, all property of Sarah DeCosta.
The court heard that the accused is a Brazilian national, who arrived at Guyana via Lethem. On March 20, 2024 around 20:00hrs, the victim secured the items and cash mentioned in the charge in the kitchen located at the lower flat of her hotel and left, leaving an employee on duty. At about 22:00hrs, the said employee secured the door and went into a room and slept away. Around 06:00hrs, the employee observed the items in the charge missing. A Close Circuit Television (CCTV) camera was then searched and the accused was seen on the footage, breaking into the hotel and stealing the items. Frikho was later contacted, and told of the allegations leveled against him. Whilst being arrested and cautioned, he (Frikho) admitted to police that he stole the items. Following that, the accused took ranks to a location where a portion of the items were retrieved.
As court proceeded, it was later revealed by the prosecutor that Frikho is a Brazilian prison escapee. According to the prosecutor, the accused himself told investigators that he escaped from prison in Brazil. The prosecutor added that whilst in Brazil, Frikho was in jail for offences of similar nature. In light of this, the Magistrate considered the early guilty plea and the previous antecedents as well. As such, Magistrate Latchman imposed 50 months imprisonment on the accused and told him: “Thou shall not steal.”
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