A man accused of stealing $200 from the wife of lawyer Kelvin Hastings-Smith claimed he found her purse in the street and had just wanted to return it to her as a "good Samaritan".

Julie Ann Hastings-Smith told Magistrates' Court she could "not be sure" that defendant Dwayne Young was the man who stole her wallet from a City Hall art gallery, but a request to view his side profile was rejected by Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner.

Young, 41, of no fixed abode, yesterday denied theft and dishonestly receiving stolen goods on January 28. He claimed he telephoned Mrs. Hastings-Smith after finding her purse in order to return it to her.

Mr. Warner however, said the law stated that if someone is in possession of stolen goods and cannot account for how they came about those goods, then it must be inferred they have stolen them.

Larissa Burgess, prosecuting, said Mrs. Hastings-Smith, an artist, was visiting the Bermuda Society of Arts Gallery at City Hall on the morning of January 28.

She was in an office on the top floor when she heard a noise and went to investigate. Mrs. Hastings-Smith then saw a man wandering around the building. She asked him whether he needed any help, to which he replied that he was just visiting the gallery.

When Mrs. Hastings Smith returned to the office, however, she discovered her purse had been stolen.

Yesterday, she told the court that because the man was "standing sideways to me", she could not be sure Young was the same person.

"The gentleman sitting here today in court, I'd like to see him sideways please. I am not sure that this is the person," she said. Mr. Warner, however, ruled out such an identification procedure in the court.

Mrs. Hastings-Smith said that the next day, January 29, she then received a telephone call from someone claiming to have found her purse. "They asked whether there would be a reward and we arranged to meet in Victoria Park," she said.

Police officers then went to meet the man instead. Detective Constable Malcolm Dill told the court: "We approached the defendant and he was informed he was being placed under arrest for suspicion of theft.

"I cautioned him and placed handcuffs on him and he then reached into his rear pants pocket and pulled out a black leather 'Carriage' purse, about seven to eight inches long, and handed the purse to me. He also replied: 'For being a good Samaritan'. We then took him to Hamilton Police Station."

When Mrs. Hastings-Smith recovered her purse she found $200 in cash and bus tokens were missing.

Mr. Warner said yesterday: "The court finds this man guilty. The Prosecution has proved the case beyond all reasonable doubt."

He added: "I can place no reliance on the identification of this complainant by Mrs. Hastings-Smith, however, he was found in possession of the wallet which was stolen from her bag.

"In the circumstances, the defendant was found in possession of this purse the next day and he has given no plausible explanation and so it is up to me to infer that this was in his possession."

Young, a construction worker, told the court: "I have not stolen any purse. I found this purse on the steps of Mount Saint Agnes and I phoned the complainant and gave her my name and then the Police came. That's how I came into possession of this purse. I had my fiancée with me when I found it.

"I've stayed out of trouble since being released from prison a year ago, working and doing the right thing."

Young's fiancée Yvonne Maloney told the court: "We found it on the steps of Mount Saint Agnes. I was with him."

But Mr. Warner said: "In the circumstances, considering everything, I am giving you a six months' prison sentence suspended for 24 months. Stop stealing people's stuff. Your record says you do this."