“Bad” cheques buy Phillips jail time

Convicted felon Jason McDonald Phillips has been sentenced to five years in prison for fraud.

However, as of yesterday the 39-year-old of Suriname Road, Horse Hill, St Joseph only has one year and 73 days left to serve on that sentence after he was credited with a one-third discount for his guilty plea and the 774 days he had already spent on remand.

Madam Justice Pamela Beckles who presided over the No. 5 Supreme Court imposed the sentence on Philips who listened via a Zoom hearing from Dodds prison.

Phillips at a previous hearing pleaded guilty to uttering a forged cheque on June 8, 2017 with intent to defraud the Republic Bank Barbados Limited of $2,000 and obtaining the said amount from the bank. He also pleaded guilty to money laundering in that between June 8 and November 14, 2017 he disposed of the amount being the proceeds of crime.

Phillips also admitted to the July 20, 2017 offence of uttering a Republic Bank Barbados Limited cheque made payable to him in the sum of $300 knowing it to be forged.

The cheques belonged to Anthony Hunte, owner of Hunte’s Nurseries Limited located in St Joseph.

“Since you have admitted that you have a gambling addiction with which you would like some assistance, it is the order of this court that during your incarceration and with an aim of rehabilitation, you are to enroll and complete any counseling programmes which would assist you in addressing the gambling addiction,” Justice Beckles ruled as she closed Phillips’ cases which were prosecuted by Principal Crown Counsel Krystal Delaney.