A man accused of stealing a quantity of vegetables was on Thursday placed on $25,000 bail at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, where he declared he would opt for a jail term since he had no money.
Eon Forde wailed loudly as he said that he was guilty as charged and he begged acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry to give him at least a two-month sentence. He added that he did not want to waste time going to court repeatedly.
However, Forde, accused of stealing tomatoes and eggplants from a couple for whom he does odd jobs, said that despite his guilty plea, he was innocent. “I din thief nothing,” he declared.
As a result, the magistrate explained to him that as a matter of legal principle by which she is bound, she could not accept his guilty plea unless he was willing to unequivocally accept the facts given by the prosecution. The magistrate subsequently entered a not guilty plea for Forde.
The allegation against Forde is that on March 21, at Georgetown, he stole half a bag of tomatoes and a quantity of eggplants valued $20,000. The items were the property of Renetta Persaud.
Police Corporal Venetta Pindar said that Persaud had asked Forde to assist her with loading the items into a vehicle, after which she left. According to Pindar, when the woman subsequently checked for the produce, she discovered that the items listed in the charge were missing as was Forde.
A police report was made and subsequently Forde was arrested.
Forde, after being told that he would be placed on bail, disrupted the peace in the courtroom, causing the Magistrate to leave the bench. The man said that he could not afford to bail himself and preferred serving jail time instead.
The magistrate, after resuming on the bench, ordered him to return to court on April 5 for trial. As he exited the courtroom, Forde hurled insults at Persaud and her husband, who were both present.
