Dwayne Blincholm appeared in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate’s Court recently, where he pleaded guilty to praedial larceny. Blincholm had reportedly stolen 13 dozen ackees from the Mona campus of the University of West Indies, and was sentenced to 30 days in prison for the offence.
The court heard that Blincholm was arrested and charged after campus security guards held him on the university property, searched his bag, and found the stolen ackees. Despite him telling the court that he had not stolen the ackees intentionally (he claimed he was passing, saw them, and picked them), Senior Magistrate Judith Pusey was not moved, stating “… praedial larceny is costing the country a lot because the little that you stole plus the little that another person steals adds up so, you’re going to spend 30 days in prison for what you did.“
The police in Highgate, St. Mary are seeking the public’s assistance in locating a man who has been linked to the stabbing death of 43 year old Anthony Dennis (aka “Tools”), a jeweler of Lewistore in Highgate. The man being sought is 45-year-old Herbert Clarke (also called “Panty Man”), a vendor of Tremorsworth in Highgate, St. Mary.
Reports indicate that Dennis was stabbed and killed during a dispute with another man who reportedly owed him money.
Shawayne Smith, a 25-year-old labourer of Watermount district in St. Catherine, appeared in the Spanish Town Resident Magistrate’s Court yesterday, where he faced a charge of assault occasioning bodily harm. Smith is accused of beating his grandmother after his demand for money was not met.
Allegations are that on December 9, at about midday, Smith was at home with his 70 year old grandmother. He reportedly demanded money from her saying, “Mi want money and mi want it badly.” He then allegedly grabbed a broom, and started to beat the complainant on the upper part of her body. She reportedly suffered injuries to her left breast and other parts of her body. It was also revealed to the court that two years ago, Smith had allegedly assaulted the complainant and other family members. The court heard that he suffers from a psychiatric condition, and he was remanded so that treatment could be administered to him. The matter will be heard again in court in February, 2011.
54 year-old Neville Gardener of New Castle, Westmoreland, died last night, after he was reportedly stabbed by his son following an argument with his common-law wife. According to reports, Gardener and his common-law-wife had been having ongoing disputes and at about 10 p.m., they started fighting.
One of Gardener’s sons reportedly intervened, and used a knife to stab his father. Gardener was taken to the Cornwall Regional Hospital where he later died. The son has since been taken into custody by the Bethel Town Police who are investigating.
82-year-old Bishop Wilbert Peynado, of the Montego Bay Church of Jesus Christ, was reportedly shot and killed along the busy Barnett Street in Montego Bay this morning. The incident reportedly occured just across the street from the Barnett Street police station.
Preliminary reports indicate that the elderly clergyman was attacked and shot at about 9:40 a.m. as he walked along Barnett Street. He was rushed to the Cornwall Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The Montego bay Criminal Investigation Bureau have launched an investigation into the matter.
Rohan Brown, a man who told the court that hunger led him to jump a fence and steal three breadfruits off a tree in a Kingston yard, pleaded guilty to praedial larceny in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate’s Court yesterday, and was sentenced to three months in prison.
The complainant told the court that Brown had repeatedly trespassed on her property, stealing fruits from her trees, and in his own defence Brown told the court that he was hungry and had planned to prepare a meal of roast breadfruit and ackee. Brown reportedly tried to joke about the charges that had been brought against him, but the Resident Magistrate was apparently unamused, as she sentenced him to three months in prison.
Thieves struck at the Fair Prospect High School in Portland last night, reportedly stealing three desktop computers from the library, along with a multimedia projector, a variety of food items and a cash register from the school’s tuck shop.
The robbery could have significant repercussions, as the computers that were stolen have the Schools-Based Assessments (SBA) of numerous students (which will have to be redone, unless the computers are returned). A percentage of the SBA goes towards the students’ finals for the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate examinations.
A woman who reportedly went to a police station to make a report, but was reportedly turned away because she was not “properly dressed”, was reportedly stabbed to death just minutes after she left the police station last night.
According to reports, 31 year old Melonie Johnson went to the Caymanas Station in Gregory Park at approximately 9:45 last night to report a dispute that she had with another woman in the community. Johnson was reportedly turned away from the police station by a policeman who was on duty, who reportedly told her to get “properly dressed” before entering the station. Minutes after leaving the police station, she was reportedly confronted by the woman with whom she had the dispute, and during a fight she was stabbed to death.
Deloris Forrester, an administrative assistant and paralegal officer at the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate’s Court, appeared before that same court yesterday, where she was accused of using money that she collected from drug fines for her personal use.
The court heard that Forrester collected J$1,463,100 in fines between January and June 2010. In July, she was transferred to the St. Catherine Resident Magistrate’s Court, and some time there after, the Ministry of Justice discovered that the money collected by her was not handed over.
An audit was conducted by the ministry, and $666,100 was recovered in a filing cabinet at the Maxfield Park Health Centre (where the offices for the centre for drug rehabilitation are located(. The court also heard that the accused embezzled the remaining $797,000.
A report was made to the police and following investigations, Forrester was charged. In court yesterday, Forrester was granted $500,000 bail, and ordered to report to the Bridgeport Police Station on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. She will return to court on December 9.
In what must be one of the most unusual drug busts in recent times, a man who swallowed 36 pellets of ganja (marijuana) and imported it to Jamaica from Trinidad, pleaded guilty to drug charges in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday (November 3), and was sentenced to nine months in prison. The man, 28 year old Mark Maxam, a resident of Pelican Parade in Kingston 11, was also fined $6,400 and will serve an additional six months in prison if the fine is not paid.
Maxam was held at the Norman Manley International Airport on October 28, after he confessed during an interview. He was taken to the Kingston Public Hospital, where he expelled the pellets between October 28 and 31.
