Four men who pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated robbery have been told to try to put their houses in order in case their “liberty becomes curtailed”.
Justice Carlisle Graves gave the advice to Sherwin Ambrose Brathwaite, of 1st Avenue Hoyte’s Village, St James; Akeem Jamal Alleyne, of Forde’s Tenantry, Silver Hill, Christ Church; and Dwayne Ricardo Gibson and Devere George Junior Small, both of Silver Hill, Christ Church, on Wednesday.
The men pleaded guilty before the No. 3 Supreme Court to entering the Silver Fox Arcade, Christ Church as trespassers on January 13, 2011, and stealing $20 340 cash, an external hard drive and a power supply – with cash and items totaling $21 080 – belonging to Palace Amusements Limited.
They also admitted that on the same date they entered the mentioned arcade as trespassers and stole a cellular phone, a wallet and $450 case, totaling $700, property of Michael Bramble, and at the time had a firearm.
Brathwaite was 28 years old at the time of the offence, Alleyne 20 and Gibson and Small both 21.
Senior Crown Counsel Neville Watson, who is the prosecutor in the matter, accepted the pleas and said the State did not object to them remaining on bail pending sentencing.
“Young men, the granting of bail pending sentence following a guilty plea for an offence as serious as aggravated robbery, with use of a firearm, is not to represent to you a message that a custodial sentence may not follow. It is still likely,” Justice Greaves warned.
He further told the men their continuation on bail was also not “a licence for you to go out there and commit any further crimes”.
“Research tends to show that many who are bailed commit the same or similar offences while on bail and that research worldwide is not unique to this jurisdiction. I will encourage you not to become part of those statistics. What you should do is try to put your house in order in case your liberty becomes curtailed, and to do so lawfully,” the judge stated.
After the lawyers made the submissions, Justice Greaves ordered pre-sentencing reports on the men’s lives. He said in preparation for sentencing, the prosecutor should submit submissions in writing by March 31 and defence attorneys by April 4. Custody and antecedent records must also be submitted in writing to the court by March 25 and the men are expected to know their fates on April 6.
Brathwaite is represented by attorney-at-law Leslie Cargill Straker, Alleyne by Michael Lashley QC and Sade Harris, while Small has Myshak Thornhill as his lawyer, and defence counsel Ajamu Boardi is representing Gibson.
