Theft of pricey cell phone dials up a one-year jail sentence for offender who reportedly rejected a job offer

A Yorks Village man will be spending Carnival in prison for stealing a woman’s cell phone during an event held at Fort James.

The Police arrested and charged Keiran Hutson, 22, for the larceny and receiving of a Samsung Galaxy S21 plus 5g cellular phone, valued $3,500.

He was also charged for stealing the phone case valued at $90 and an APUA SIM card valued at $20.

When he appeared before Chief Magistrate Joanne Walsh in the St. John’s Magistrates Court on Monday, July 18, Hutson pleaded guilty to the larceny charge and received a one-year prison sentence.

He pleaded not guilty to receiving the items, and that charge was withdrawn by the prosecution.

Reports say that Hutson attended the event at Fort James and went to dance behind the victim, whom he did not know.

Further reports say she turned around and pushed the young man away; but during that brief contact he had already picked her phone, which was in her rear pocket.

This offence reportedly occurred on July 16.

After the woman discovered her phone was missing, she used her sister’s mobile to trace the stolen device to a shop in the Craft Market and reported the matter to the Police.

It appeared that Hutson had taken the phone to the dealer to be sold. However, when he turned up to the store – apparently to collect payment – an officer was already stationed there to take him into custody.

Hutson told the court that he had found the phone.

However, this is not his first offence for larceny; a source says he has a previous conviction that did not warrant jail time. In fact, the source says, he was given a break on that occasion.

Because he was unemployed, the Chief Magistrate personally contacted an official from National Housing to offer him work and get him off the streets, the source tells REAL News.  However, Hutson never showed up to the job.