Magistrate issues suspended sentence

A St Philip mother who previously pleaded guilty to throwing rocks in a public place and assaulting two police officers was handed a suspended sentence for her crimes.

Chief Magistrate Christopher Birch sentenced Sharica Lasonta Edwards, of Foursquare Valley, St Philip to six months in prison. The sentence was suspended for 18 months.

Among the charges to which she pleaded guilty was throwing stones on Foursquare Road, which was likely to cause injury to a passerby, as well as resisting assaulting and occasioning actual bodily harm to police constables Bret Price and Sherry Hinds in the execution of their duties on July 23, 2018.

Edwards had been given 240 hours of community service to perform.

However, when she appeared before the Chief Magistrate recently it was revealed that she had falsified some of the hours on her time sheet. She was also disrespectful to the court and as a result was remanded last weekend.

When she appeared on Monday Birch reminded Edwards that “We took a gamble on you and gave you a mere 240 hours of community service . . . and for the court to extend mercy and to have it thrown so rudely back in its face.”

He then convicted, reprimanded and discharged her on several charges and imposed the suspended sentence on the assault against the police officer.

“You have a daughter . . . this is not the example that I would wish for you to set. Do what is right and not what is easy,” the Chief Magistrate told Edwards before releasing her.