“I gon change. Ah gon look fah wuk and be a better person. Please, please” was the plea of a man who was subsequently ordered to perform six months of community service after he pleaded guilty to snatching a chain.
Acting Chief Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus yesterday imposed the sentence on Shamar Whyte, 20, who admitted that on January 12th, at Hadfield Street, Georgetown, he stole a $500,000 gold chain and a pendant from the person of Ashanti Khan.
Police prosecutor Adduni Inniss stated that on the day in question, the complainant was at the Mahdia bus park on Hadfield Street when Whyte approached her and pulled the chain off her neck and attempted to escape. An alarm was raised and public-spirited citizens were able to arrest the accused. He was then handed over to police officers on patrol and the chain was found in his hand.
The prosecutor noted that Whyte later admitted to the crime.
Asked by the magistrate if what was said was true, the accused stated, “I didn’t have the chain. She had it in her bosom. I took it and it dropped.”
Asked why he took the chain, Whyte, in tears, stated, “I see she walking. I di hungry and I tek it.”
Police prosecutor Inniss told the court that the crime carries a sentence of three years, however, due to the fact that the accused did not waste the court’s time and was a first-time offender, 18 months would be an appropriate sentence.
This caused the accused to cry more and beg for mercy.
The Magistrate, after instructing the probation officer to speak with the accused, ordered that he complete six months of community service along with six months of counselling or six months imprisonment.