A career criminal who defended himself this week in a precedent-setting case based on the forensic evidence was found guilty in the Supreme Court yesterday.

Anthony (Timmy) Webster Swan, 42, of Woodlawn Road, Sandys, was jailed for eight years for breaking into a Pembroke house while the occupants were home watching TV.

The case was ground breaking because it was the first time in Bermuda's history that a conviction had been secured when less than a `16 point-ridge sample' of a fingerprint had been accepted by a court.

In this case, only ten ridges of Swan's fingerprint were accepted as evidence by the court.

Swan was found guilty of breaking and entering, stealing a ladies Citizen watch, along with $60 in cash, from Michael and Julie Stephens' Fairylands home at 11 p.m. on April last year. Swan, who received an eight-year prison sentence for the break in, had argued that the Crown's evidence of only a ten-point ridge fingerprint was insufficient - and that in Bermuda, the law stated it needed to see a minimum of 16 in order to convict.

He claimed the prosecution only had a partial fingerprint.

However, fingerprint expert for the Crown, Paul Lindsay Roberts, said he would not class it as a partial print.

When instructing the jury, Assistant Justice Charles-Etta Simmons told the jurors that the only evidence the prosecution had was the fingerprint evidence and that the 16-point characteristic rule was not law on the Island, it was just the accepted standard. She said: "Mr. Roberts said that he would have come to the same conclusion, even if there had been 16, 38, 40 or 60 characteristics.

"The evidence also showed eight subsidiary ridge characteristics (which is the lower ridge area of a fingerprint)."

After deliberating for almost two hours, the jury reached a unanimous verdict of guilty.

Earlier this week, the court heard how Mr. Stephens had been laying on the couch watching television in April of last year when he saw a reflection in the TV as he turned it off to go to bed. The man said he heard a crumpling of paper and then turned to see a silhouette of a man in the kitchen.

Moments later, the intruder passed by him in the house and ran out the sliding glass door, dropping a large jar of coins and a Pyrex dish containing cash.

Mr. Roberts, who formerly worked in Bermuda but now works in Wales, said the fingerprint found on the Pyrex dish was an exact match to Swan's.

Swan had asked Mr. Robert's if he knew that in Bermuda there was a 16 point ridge characteristic rule, to which he said he did.

Yesterday, before the jury was released to reach a verdict, prosecutor Anthony Blackman was not allowed to summarise his case as usual because Swan had defended himself, instead of securing legal counsel.

But Swan was permitted give closing arguments. He tried to discredit the fingerprint evidence and said Police officers had botched the case.

He said: "Where is the evidence WG1 (the Pyrex dish)? Over the last three days it has never been shown in court.

"Don't let that piece of print fool you and don't let no officer come up here and persuade you. That's just his opinion.

"I think there is something suspicious with that dish.

"They found a smudged fingerprint, and I ask you to really look at it. Look at the way the lines are going - are they mine?

"If I was to have picked up a baby bottle (large bottle of coins) and a Pyrex dish full of coins - why did they get only one print?"

After the jury returned their anonymous verdict, Sgt. Nicholas Pedro read out a long history of Swan's previous similar convictions dating back to 1981, which included breaking and entering and also a conviction for prowling.

Mr. Blackman said: "Swan has three previous convictions from crimes of a like nature and the maximum sentence for the crime is ten years - seven years for breaking in and three years for committing the crime in the night time."

Before sentencing, Assistant Justice Simmons asked Swan if he had anything to say, to which he said `no'.

She recommended an eight-year sentence and said that she would recommend to the Commissioner of Prisons that he complete a course for repeat offenders before being released.