A man who claimed he stole phones because he was owed money picked up a $1,500 fine in Magistrates’ Court.Haile Smith, 28, of St Monica’s Road, Pembroke, admitted taking two BlackBerry phones from Derek Ingham.He told Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner yesterday: “He owes me a couple of dollars. It was my big mistake.”Crown counsel Robert Welling told the court that on the night of January 11, Mr Ingham was in the shower at his Church Valley Lane, Sandys apartment with the door closed but unlocked. Thirty minutes later, at 9pm, he noticed the phones had been taken and called Somerset Police Station.Two days later, police spotted Smith, who was a suspect, standing outside his girlfriend’s door upstairs from Mr Ingham’s apartment. When approached, he said: “I didn’t do no burglary”, but a phone in his front pocket matched the serial number on Mr Ingham’s.A search of Smith’s home uncovered the other BlackBerry in his jacket. The two phones were valued at $1,200.Smith said yesterday: “Me and the guy drink together. We had a little dispute. The door was open, I knocked and called his name. Later on, he would have seen me and I would have given it back, but I didn’t see him.”Smith added that he had acted out of character, but Mr Warner, noting he had previous convictions, said: “That’s not quite right. As a matter of fact, it would seem you have acted this way before.”Smith was given a fine of $1,500 or 30 days’ imprisonment.