St Catherine judge remands man accused of buying stolen vehicle

A man who allegedly purchased a stolen motor car was remanded when he appeared in the St Catherine Parish  Court on Friday. 

Senior  Parish Judge Desiree  Alleyne ordered Orandi Thomas kept in custody until February 20, when he is scheduled to appear again in court. 

He is from Central Village in the parish and is charged with larceny of a motor vehicle. 

Thomas' attorney Walter Melbourne told the court it was naivety on part of his client which allowed him to become the victim of a scam.

"Your honour, he bought the car and took it to an auto-body repairman to have it spruced up. He had no knowledge  it was a stolen motor vehicle," Melbourne  said.

The complainant told the court that she is willing to accept payment for the car, whose engine and chasis numbers were tampered with. 

It is alleged that on January 26, 2024, the complainant rented a Toyota Isis motorcar valued at $1.3 million with a contractual stipulation that the vehicle be returned on February 2. 

After date passed and the rentee could not be located, the vehicle was tracked to Windsor Heights in St Catherine. 

A report to the police resulted in an operation and the vehicle bearing public passenger vehicle licence plates was discovered at a repair shop.

Thomas was arrested and he admitted that he bought the vehicle but did not produce a receipt. 

He was subsequently charged.

- Rasbert Turner

Follow The Gleaner on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com