Man referred to St Ann’s Hospital after $79,000 window damage (with CNC3 video)

Vagrant found guilty for property damage

A 45-year-old homeless man who vandalised the parliament building and two banks, has been remanded to the St Ann's Mental Hospital for treatment after he said the government owed him money and he was living in a “place of evil.” Kurt Seales,45, pleaded guilty to three offences when he appeared before Magistrate Gloria Jasmath in the Port-of-Spain Eleventh Court yesterday.

Seales was charged with unlawfully and maliciously damaging three glass panes valued at $18,978 the property of First Citizens and that he did likewise to two glass panes valued at $15,000 the property of Scotiabank Limited. The incidents occurred on January 30, at Independence Square and Frederick Street Port-of-Spain respectively.

Seales was also charged with unlawfully and maliciously damaging three glass panes valued at $25,000 on the same day at the Waterfront Centre, the property of the government of TT. The court heard from Sgt Azad Ali that Cpl Best was on duty at the parliament building around 4.30 am on January 30, when he observed Seales pelting objects at the glass.

Around 4.50 am on January 30, Insp Jawahir of the Port-of-Spain CID observed Seales pelting stones at the glass windows of the FCB and Scotiabank automatic telling machines on Independence Square and Frederick Street respectively. He was later arrested near Charlotte Street, Port-of-Spain.

Laughter erupted in the court yesterday as Ali informed the court that at the time of Seales' arrest, he told police “Yes, I do that because the government owing me money. I have a television in my head and I see who kill Michael Jackson. I break the glass to let the public know what going on.”

Seales said he had been living at the Centre for the Socially Displaced, Riverside Plaza which he referred to as “a place of evil” where he “had been offered up.” He was remanded to the St Ann's Mental Hospital for treatment to reappear in court on February 15.