$250,000 Carnival robbery:

A 21-year-old man was Tuesday sentenced to seven years in prison after he pleaded guilty to robbing six British tourists at Maracas Bay last Carnival.

Errol Sealey, of Phillip Street, Maraval, stood still before Magistrate Avason Quinlan in the Port-of-Spain Fourth Magistrates’ Court.

He was charged with robbing John Hughes, Stella Hughes, Susan Bates, Wendy Parish, Michael Parish, and Michael Bates, of a quantity of English and Trinidad and Tobago currency, cameras, cell phones, jewelry and other items during a robbery at Maracas Bay, on February 28.

The victims, along with six other persons, all from Cambridge in the United Kingdom, came to Trinidad to attend the formal opening of a villa owned by Gerard Meijas at Maracas Bay. They were also in Trinidad for the Carnival celebrations.

Around 9.30 pm, on February 28, the victims were seated on the verandah when they observed five masked men approaching. One of the men was armed with a gun which he placed to the forehead of John Hughes.

The victims were ordered to lie on the floor of the verandah and ordered to remove all items of jewelry, watches and rings. The five men then proceeded to rob the six foreigners of cash and other items.

They were also threatened by the five men with one saying “we go cause murder here, who it gonna be?” The six foreigners were forced into a bedroom where they were locked.

Twenty minutes later, Gerard Meijas, proprietor of the villa, arrived and found his guests in the locked bedroom.

He took them to the Maracas Bay Police Station where the victims made a report. Sgt Frank Mc Millan and Corporal Auburn Nash were detailed to investigate.

On March 2, the police executed a warrant at Sealey’s home and informed him that he was a suspect in the robbery. He was taken to the Barataria Police Station where he gave a 14-page statement explaining the entire plan and execution of the robbery.

The police executed warrants at several homes and recovered some of the loot. They also found items at Sealey’s home which he said he bought with his portion of the loot.

“This was a pay day for your crime,” Quinlan stated as she imposed the seven year sentence on the first offender.