By Shanique Richards
St. Kitts Reporter
Twenty-six-year-old Anthony Phillip went before the court on Tuesday to answer to two separate charges of Receiving one JVC am/fm system with amplifier.
Phillip pled guilty to the charge and was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
The Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) withdrew the second charge of Phillip breaking and entering the home of Jervin Thomas on November 29, 2006 at the New Road housing area and stealing valuable items including some expensive jewellery valuing a grand total of EC$4929.
Phillip told the court that he was unaware that his roommate, Leon Samuel had stolen the JVC equalizer which he claimed was given to him.
However, His Lordship Francis Belle was unmoved by this and told the young man that he should have known better.
“You should have known what Samuel was up to, but instead it seems as though you chose to turn a blind eye,” said Belle.
Phillip will be returning to the court during the September Assizes to answer to three other charges, causing grievous bodily harm, building breaking and larceny.
Phillip’s roommate, twenty-year-old Leon Samuel was more unfortunate.
He pled guilty to a slew of charges including three counts of housebreaking and larceny and was sentenced to five years in prison for each count. The judge ordered the sentences to be served concurrently.
Samuel was also charged with a fourth count of receiving but the prosecution withdrew this charge.
The particulars of one case stated that around 8:00 a.m. November 28, 2006 Samuel broke and entered the home of Mary Barzey and stole items valuing a total of EC$3988.00.
The DPP in her opening statement said that the home was ransacked and items were stolen. She said one of the items was found on the defendant’s neck and was identified by the owner.
On another charge of building breaking and larceny Samuel received the maximum penalty of seven years which will run concurrently with his other sentences. He was accused of stealing items valued at $4929 with an accomplice, Anthony Phillip.
Samuel’s attorney Reginald James spoke on behalf of the defendant as he pleaded for the judge to consider concurrent instead of consecutive sentences.
“Having pled guilty on three counts of larceny and one count of house breaking please have some mercy. I want to thank the DPP for withdrawing the fourth count of receiving. On May 10 the accused was sentenced to a four-year sentence. I also ask that you take three things into consideration; his age, because he is only 20 years My Lord, his decision to plead guilty on his own and save public time and third, his remorse.
“When I visited him in prison, with tears in his eyes, he said, ‘Since my mother died I started going downhill.’ Well your lordship my wife died last year and I didn’t break nobody house but we all handle things differently. I humbly ask that you have mercy and that the punishment runs concurrently with each other for the three counts as well as the four-year conviction on May 10. I hope that He will learn his lesson when He comes out,” James pleaded.
Judge belle told the young man that his background showed that he was a criminal especially since both the case in May and those this week had similar circumstances.
“It seems as though you indulged in it as a career. You are not stealing cheap stuff but instead some very valuable items worth thousands of dollars. Looking at the seriousness of the damage you have caused, you qualify for the maximum penalty of 7 years, to be served concurrently with the five-year sentences. You have a very bad record and you have to make up your mind to stop this nonsense,” Belle said.
