A 30-year-old man from Martindales Road has received a one-year custodial sentence after confessing to the theft of construction windows from a local Belleville business, in a case that highlights the persistent issue of repeat petty offending in the district. Tramane Michael Stuart, whose address is listed as Campaign Land, entered a guilty plea to the charge of grand theft before the No. 2 District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court. Court documents confirm the offense took place in late May, when four high-value sash windows totaling $1,640 were taken from the premises of Kara’s Trading, located on 8th Avenue.
As court proceedings outlined, employees of the local trading company had temporarily stored a batch of new sash windows in an outdoor lot secured by a perimeter of wooden pallets ahead of installation. When staff returned to the site the following working day, an inventory check immediately revealed that four of the stored windows were no longer on the property. Investigators from the local law enforcement reviewed closed-circuit security camera footage covering the lot, which clearly identified Stuart as the individual who removed the windows from the site. He was taken into police custody shortly after identification, and made a full voluntary admission of guilt during questioning.
Magistrate Manila Renee handed down the one-year prison sentence after reviewing Stuart’s criminal record, which showed four prior convictions. The most recent of these convictions, which were entered in 2025, were also for drug-related offenses and additional theft charges, leading the magistrate to impose a full custodial term rather than alternative sentencing options like probation or fines.