Edwards charged for having stolen property

When Mark Anderson Edwards gave $225 to a man for a weed whacker last month, he thought it was a legitimate buy.

However, that purchase landed him before Magistrate Alison Burke in the District ‘A’ Traffic Court on Monday to answer a charge of receiving stolen goods.

The 49-year-old of Bartletts Tenantry, Sargeants Village, Christ Church was charged that on November 30, 2023, he assisted in the retention of one weed whacker valued at $1 037, belonging to the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute, knowing or believing the same to be stolen goods.

He told the court he was “guilty with explanation”.

Court prosecutor Constable Ralph Rollock said that acting on a report, police went to the house of the accused and he showed them the cellar where the whacker was stored. He told the police that he had purchased it from a man who said he had gotten the tool from his father.

Noting that Edwards’ last conviction was in 1993, Magistrate Burke placed him on a three-month bond to keep the peace.

If breached, he will have to pay a $500 fine forthwith or be imprisoned for two weeks.

“He has kept himself out of trouble for 30 years. Please continue to do so,” the magistrate told Edwards, who was represented by attorney Brent Chandler.