Maduro sentenced to one year in prison for Tread Falls burglary

Kilmo Maduro, the man who burgled a Tread Falls apartment on Tortola last year, has been sentenced to serve the next 12 months at Her Majesty’s Prison.

In sentencing the offender on Tuesday, Magistrate Shawn Innocent said he considered the seriousness of the offence, the financial loss to the family, and the damage caused to property as factors that aggravated the crime.

On the other hand, Maduro’s early guilty plea and the fact that there was no violence used to commit the crime served as mitigating factors for the offender. Notwithstanding, Magistrate Innocent said “a custodial sentence is warranted”.

Notably, the court did not issue a compensation order for the more than $8,000 in stolen cash, the $1,000 worth of jewellery, or the keys that were taken during the burglary.

Meanwhile, the 35-year-old offender from East End also had a number of traffic-related offences brought up against him. He was only cautioned, reprimanded and discharged on those charges.

He had pleaded guilty to driving an unlicensed vehicle and driving without the rear and front identification plates. All of the offences occurred on October 30 last year.

What happened

The court heard that on the day in question, Maduro was seen on surveillance footage entering the Tread Falls property in a vehicle. He had removed the vehicle’s license plates and attempted to disguise himself by wearing a cap and sunglasses.

The court heard that Maduro located and tampered with surveillance cameras on the property before gaining access to the apartment through a window.

He then made off with a vault containing the cash, jewellery and boat keys.

The matter was later reported to the police and Maduro was arrested and charged.

When interviewed, Maduro told police that he spent all the cash to pay bills and discarded the empty vault along the Ridge Road. The jewellery, however, was not recovered.

Stephen Daniels represented Maduro.