Eight years for aggravated robbery

 

Twenty-three-year-old Trevor Boston has been sentenced to eight years in prison.

Boston was found guilty of aggravated robbery several weeks ago by a jury of his peers and he maintains that he is innocent of the charge.

The youth appeared in the High Court yesterday before Justice Keith Thom, who took into consideration the three years and four months he has spent on remand.

Boston, who has five CXC subjects after graduating from a school in Dominica, apologised to the court and to his family for the embarrassment he has caused them.

The 23-year-old man asked for a chance “to do something good in my life”.

“I am not a bad person. I am a good person. Have leniency on me, Sir,” Boston pleaded with the court.

Boston and another unidentified person reportedly robbed Kurt Russel of New Winthorpes of a quantity of items to include jewellery and electronics with a combined value of $26,505.

On February 6, 2009, about 10:30 pm, the victim was at home being visited by a friend. Subsequent to the friend leaving, Boston and his accomplice are said to have stormed into the house with pump action shotguns and demanded money.

Russel was able to identify Boston, who was wearing a mask, from a tattoo of a machine gun on his left forearm and by his voice.

A neighbour, during the trial, testified that she overheard the entire incident as she hid under her bed with her children.

The woman said that she heard Boston’s accomplice pleading for the victim’s life to be spared.

The police told the court that a bag taken from the victim was found in Boston’s possession.

Kayode O’Marde prosecuted the case while Sherfield Bowen defended Boston, who has one previous conviction and was once an inmate at the Boy’s Training School.

 

 

Youth pleads guilty to break-in

 

Justice Rootical Lee, a teenager who kept a smirk on his face during his sentencing hearing yesterday in the High Court, has been placed on three years’ probation.

Lee pleaded guilty to a charge of house break-in and larceny.

In addition to the probation order, Justice Keith Thom ordered that the 18-year-old youth receive counselling and a psychiatric evaluation.

Thom said that quarterly reports on Lee’s progress must be submitted to the court by his probation officer. A report of his evaluation should also be submitted, however, within six months.

Lee’s probation officer seems to think that he needs to be evaluated mentally because he has been stealing since age eight years and appears to have kleptomaniac tendencies.  He expressed to his probation officer that no building, regardless of its security system, is impenetrable for him.

Lee, who smiled and struggled for words as he addressed the court, apologised for his actions and promised that a similar incident would not occur in the future.

The court heard that on March 8, 2011, about 6:30 am, the virtual complainant secured his home and left for work.

He and his wife returned home about 10:15 pm when he discovered that his house had been broken into. The victim observed that the back door was open and a deadbolt damaged.

Lee told the police that while walking by the house about 7 pm, he saw that no one was at home. He said he gained access to the property by jumping the fence at the back of the house and entered the home via a window.

Lee admitted to going into two bedrooms and taking, among other things, a camera, a gold band, a laptop computer and a car radio – all valuing $11,380.

The teenager, who was 16 and a half when he committed the offence, gave away a speaker to someone, sold a gold chain for $250 and used the camera as payment for a tattoo.

Lee was arrested and charged.

The police only recovered the car radio and camera.  Lee had been on remand for 16 months.

Shannon Jones appeared in the matter on behalf of the Director of Public Prosecution’s Office.  Attorney Steadroy “Cutie” Benjamin mitigated on