A man who was in the custody of police pending a robbery charge, was sentenced on Friday to one year imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to escaping from custody.
It was alleged that on December 20, while in the custody of the police at the Brickdam Police Station for aggravated robbery, Quincy Reynolds attempted to escape custody.
Reynolds, whose face was bruised, pleaded guilty to the charge read by Magistrate Leron Daly, and in his defence, said the officers forced him to escape, claiming that he was assaulted while in custody. “They hit me, slapped me and shouted indecent words at me”, Reynolds said.
The prosecutor, however, said that after Reynolds was arrested, he started behaving in a disorderly manner and in a sudden move, tried to jump over the veranda but hit his face instead, resulting in the bruises visible.
Reynolds was also charged with aggravated robbery but he pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The second charge alleged that on December 20, at Light and Hadfield streets, Reynolds robbed Tameka Smith of a gold chain valued $40,000 and a gold pendant valued $20,000 and before or after the robbery occurred, used personal violence against her.
After both charges were read, Magistrate Daly sentenced Reynolds to a year in prison for attempting to escape custody, and related that bail cannot be granted for the robbery charge because he already has a prison sentence. Instead, Reynolds was ordered to return to court on January 18, 2019 for another hearing in relation to the robbery charge.
