(Antigua Sun) – A Guyanese man who faces deportation after pleading guilty to remaining in Antigua after the expiration of a permit has asked the court for time to sell his two cars and house.
Mark Pluck had originally pleaded not guilty to a similar offence, but immigration officials withdrew that charge and filed a new one.
The court heard that on Monday 20 July immigration enforcement officers visited Pluck at Her Majesty’s Prison (HMP) where he is on remand.
The officers identified themselves to him and told him they were making inquiries into allegations of him remaining in Antigua after the expiration of his permit. They (the immigration officers) also advised him that he would be charged.
Pluck, who was a resident in Villa, was asked to give a written statement but he declined.
The Guyanese man has two other matters pending before the court and therefore, he will not be removed until after those cases are concluded.
Pluck had previously been deported from Antigua after being convicted by then chief magistrate Frederick Bruce-Lyle on a larceny charge. He had reportedly stolen a cellular phone, a Citizen watch and two gold rings. The deportation order was made in February, 1999.
When his father died, Pluck was reportedly readmitted into the country by a former chief immigration officer so he could attend his father’s funeral. However, the Guyanese man never left Antigua.
He has since asked the court for time to sell his two cars and the house that his father died and left for him.