A Lodge resident, who was charged with attempting to rob a man about to enter a minibus, was sentenced to 6 months’ imprisonment despite his claims that he was “an innocent man”.
Peter Waldron, 24, of 6 Joseph Pollydore Street, Lodge maintained a not guilty plea to the charge of attempting to commit a felony.
Prosecutor Jomo Nichols told the court that on December 21, 2013, around 20:00hrs, the virtual complainant (VC) Herman Nichols was at the Sophia bus park awaiting transportation.
As he was about to enter a bus, he observed a man, later identified as Waldron, putting his hand into his [the VC’s] pocket. Herman Nichols held on to the would-be thief’s jersey and took him to the Brickdam Police station where a report was made.
According to Waldron, nothing transpired as claimed by Herman Nichols. Instead, he said, he had been standing under the Demico building when two officers approached him and took him to the station “just like that”.
However, investigations, along with statements by the VC and a police officer, secured Waldron’s cell in the Camp Street Prison for the next six months.
Waldron, who lamented the fact that no one who was present during his wrongful arrest had been willing to testify in his defence, had previously been convicted on a simple larceny charge.
