He might have managed to put food on the table for the Yuletide season, but admitted thief Damien Omar Carter lost a lot more in the process.
The 34-year-old was not only fired by his employer after he was caught, but he will now have to complete 150 hours of community service after admitting to the theft in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court today.
Carter, of Green Hill, St Michael, pleaded guilty to stealing six cases of Cran Water, 15 packs of spaghetti and two bags of rice, a total value of $161, belonging to Atlantic Marketing and Company Limited between December 12 and 23, 2019.
Prosecutor Station Sergeant Crishna Graham told the court that the owner of the business received information that an employee was stealing items.
The CCTV footage was reviewed and the accused was seen taking the items.
When he was confronted he admitted to the offence and apologized.
The items were never recovered.
Carter told Magistrate Douglas Frederick he had worked at the business for nine years as a general worker, porter and forklift driver.
He said he stole the items because he had no money to buy food for Christmas.
“The last two weeks of December my mother had to pay rent but she did not have enough money, so I gave her my two weeks’ salary and along with the rest of her money she used it to pay the rent,” Carter explained.
“I had no money to buy food so that is why I resorted to doing what I did to have food on Christmas Day.”
Carter said even though he had a brother and sister who also lived at the residence, they had declined to contribute to the rent.
However, the magistrate told him that he had lost more than he had gained through his actions.
“Christmas is only one day and this will be on your record and you lost your job. So now you are back at square one because now you don’t have a job.
“You were wrong and there were other options available to you,” Magistrate Frederick said.
Before determining Carter’s punishment, the magistrate sought to find out whether Carter was known to the court.
And while the prosecutor said he was, Carter maintained that he had never been before the courts.
A check of a conviction card bearing his name turned out to be a different person.
While their names and date of birth were similar, there were discrepancies in the description provided and their mothers’ names also differed.
In the end, Magistrate Douglas Frederick ordered him to complete 150 hours of community service.
He is scheduled to reappear in court on March 27.
