Defence attorney, prosecution say suspended sentence appropriate for burglar

Attorneys for the prosecution and defence have submitted that Pedro O’neal Reid should be given a suspended sentence for the crime he committed 17 years ago.

Reid, of Dash Valley, St George, pleaded guilty to entering the Fun and Games Arcade with two other trespassers on July 2, 2006, with intent to steal, while armed with a cutlass.

When he was apprehended at the scene and questioned by police, he said: “I don’t want no lawyer. I do it and I get catch.”

Reid was discovered under a staircase with another man after they removed a galvanised sheet from the roof to enter the establishment. Attorney-at-law Lennox Miller, who represents the first-time offender, told the court his 38-year-old client is an outpatient of the Psychiatric Hospital.

He said Reid was a young man – 21 years old – at the time of the offence and “gullible”. 

The defence attorney added that the convicted man was remorseful and cooperated with the police.

“All is not lost with Mr Reid. A suspended sentence is sufficient to keep him on the straight and narrow,” Miller submitted, pointing to the lengthy delay in the case being heard.

In his submissions, the prosecutor concurred with the defence on the type of sentence that should be imposed given the 17-year delay.

State Counsel Kevin Forde said a starting sentence of three years should be imposed and the time Reid had spent on remand and the one-third discount for his guilty plea should be deducted. 

“Because of the delay, . . . the prosecution asks that the sentence be suspended for two years,” he said.

Reid will be sentenced on November 2 when he next appears before Madam Justice Pamela Beckles in the No. 5 Supreme Court.