A Guyanese man has been sentenced to 12 months in prison after pleading guilty to stealing 90 feet of heavy-duty copper cable from the key Bharrat Jagdeo Demerara River Bridge, law enforcement authorities confirmed Friday.
Thirty-nine-year-old Roy Morgan, who has no permanent residential address, admitted to a charge of simple larceny for the theft that took place between August 23 and September 1, 2026. The stolen infrastructure cable was valued at approximately GY$1.62 million, according to official court documents.
Magistrate Dylon Bess handed down the custodial sentence during a hearing at the Diamond/Grove Magistrate’s Court this Friday, September 4, 2026. Following his arrest earlier this month, Morgan told investigators he had sold the stolen copper to a local scrap metal dealer in the Albouystown neighborhood to fund purchases of food and illegal narcotics.
The scrap dealer linked to the case, 51-year-old Mustafid “Mustaf” Pashaw, who resides in the Tuschen Housing Scheme on East Bank Essequibo, faces a separate charge of receiving stolen property. Pashaw was taken into custody on September 2 at a location on Sussex Street in Albouystown, Georgetown.
He made his first court appearance Friday at Georgetown Magistrate’s Court #5, where the indictable charge was formally read by presiding Magistrate Faith McGusty. Under standard judicial procedure for indictable offenses, Pashaw was not required to enter a plea at this initial hearing. He was subsequently granted bail set at GY$300,000, with a mandatory condition that he check in with officers at the Ruimveldt Police Station on the third Friday of each month until the case concludes. The proceedings have been adjourned until October 2, 2026, when the next hearing is scheduled to take place.