Court of Appeal Overturns Eleuthera Man’s Housebreaking Conviction

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The Court of Appeal has quashed the housebreaking conviction and 3-year prison sentence of an Eleuthera man.

Robertson Baptiste was convicted in connection with an April 2024 break-in at Robert Sands’ property near James Cistern, Eleuthera.

Sands, who was overseas at the time, reportedly spotted an intruder on his ring security camera.

A truck battery, vehicle title, converter and machine battery were reported stolen from his garage and shed.

Police officers testified that they recognized baptiste in the surveillance footage, because he was well known to them, with a history of robbery and housebreaking charges.

However, the footage, which formed a central part of the prosecution’s case, was never formally admitted into evidence.

The Court of Appeal found there was insufficient evidence linking Baptiste to the break-ins and ruled that the prosecution had failed to establish his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

As a result, his conviction and three year prison sentence were overturned.