Traffic ticket machine found in man’s bedroom

A Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) traffic ticketing machine was found stashed away in the house of a Nannyville, St Andrew, man after the owner of a drone that he stole tracked the device to his residence and then alerted the police.

The accused, who is not a cop, admitted to stealing the drone when he appeared in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on Monday. However, he denied being responsible for the theft of the ticketing machine.

The man pleaded guilty to charges of malicious destruction of property and simple larceny in relation to the unmanned aerial vehicle. The charges stem from an incident where he broke into a car and stole a Mac Air Fly drone valued at $200,000. According to the prosecutor, the complainant realised the rear passenger window of his car was shattered on November 4, and upon checking, discovered the drone was missing. The complainant used an air tag to track the stolen item to the home of the accused, where it was found in his bedroom. The police allegedly found the ticketing machine in the room when they went to recover the drone.

While the man admitted to damaging the vehicle and stealing the drone, he pleaded not guilty to charges related to the ticketing machine.

The investigating officer explained that the ticketing machine was part of the first batch issued by the police force, but noted difficulties in tracing who it had been assigned to.

"We're still making checks to figure out how it ended up in his possession," the officer told the court.

The man was released from prison on May 9, after serving six months for a previous simple larceny conviction. The judge remanded the accused in custody until January 17, 2025, for further proceedings.