Soldier pleads guilty to larceny, fined $3,000

A SOLDIER attached to Camp Ogden, Long Circular St James yesterday pleaded guilty to larceny of a fuel injector pump and turbo blower valve. Private Marlin Dindial, 27, of Chaguanas was fined $3,000 or as an alternative could serve 12 months hard labour. Sentence was passed by magistrate Ejenny Espinet at the Tunapuna second magistrate court. The two items were reportedly stolen from a house at Rapsey Street, Curepe on Saturday night. Dindial, was one of 42 persons arrested in an exercise on Sunday in the Curepe area. Two murder suspects were also arrested and have since appeared before a Port-of-Spain magistrate charged with a Barataria murder earlier this year, while others have appeared at the Tunapuna court charged with possession of firearms, ammunition, narcotics and outstanding warrants.

In an unrelated matter, an Arouca farmer, charged for possession of arms and ammunition appeared in the Arima court, but requested a trial by judge and jury. Deryck Thom, 30, of Waterloo Road, Arouca, yesterday pleaded not guilty to possession of a Industria Argentina automatic 9 millimetre pistol and 13 live rounds of 9 mm ammunition with a magazine. When asked if he wanted his case heard in the magistrate’s court or before a judge and jury, the accused opted for the latter. According to reports around 5.25pm on Friday, officers of the Arima CID under Sgt Forde and Ag Sgt Hamilton were on patrol on Green Street, Arima when they observed a man acting suspiciously. He was stopped and searched and the items found. Thom who appeared before magistrate Gail Gonzales was placed on $75,000 bail with surety and ordered to reappear on November 26.