St Catherine landlord, 69, faces theft and Rent Restriction Act charges over tenant’s coin savings

ST CATHERINE, Jamaica — Police have charged a 69-year-old landlord with offences under the Rent Restriction Act as well as housebreaking and larceny, linked to the alleged removal of roughly $400,000 in coins belonging to a tenant.

Lloyd Gonzales, also known as ‘Gons,’ who keeps a St Catherine address, is the accused. Old Harbour Police say the tenant locked her rented home before leaving on July 6. She came back around 3:00 pm on July 9 and found the padlocks on the front grille had been cut away and swapped for different locks, allegedly by Gonzales.

Once inside, she saw that a room door had been broken open and that a savings pan holding about $400,000 in coins was gone. Officers were notified and arrested Gonzales. On July 11 he was formally charged, after a reported admission to the offences. Authorities are still settling the date for his court appearance.