Sentencing is set for May 7 for a man who, three years ago, stole a vehicle, crashed it into a wall and fled the scene.
Carlos Brewster of Lower Carlton, St James had admitted in Supreme Court No. 5 that without the consent of the owner or other lawful authority, he took a Toyota Altis motor car, to use himself between February 16 and 17, 2021.
According to the facts, Corey Prescott, the owner of the vehicle, had parked his vehicle opposite his residence in Trents Tenantry, St James, on the night of February 16 and the next morning was notified that his vehicle was seen damaged next to the rock in the area of Westmoreland, in the same parish. He checked outside and after realising that his car was, in fact, missing,he contacted the police.
Ederson Hope was interviewed by police and informed them that sometime after 8 p.m., he saw Brewster driving the said motor car and he got in. Hope further told the police that while he was in the front passenger seat, Brewster lost control of the car and it crashed into rocks adjacent to Westmoreland Road.
After he was arrested and admitted to taking the vehicle, Brewster gave a written statement saying, “I did take up the car. I know where the key does be, so I just take up the car and drive it way.”
“As we get by Westmoreland wall . . . I lost control of the car, so while trying to get it under control, it hit the wall on the left side, so I get out the car . . . . tek out the car keys and leave it shut up where it hit.”
Pointing that the Theft Act provides that a person who is guilty of taking a conveyance shall, on conviction, be liable to five years imprisonment, State Counsel Eleazar Williams outlined the aggravating factors of the offence, including that the act was deliberate, the vehicle was taken from private premises, the damage to the vehicle, and the picking up of a passenger.
The prosecutor highlighted Brewster’s 43 previous convictions, more than 28 of which are theft related, and his high risk of reoffending. However, Willians noted that Brewster cooperated with the police and was remorseful. The prosecutor told Madam Justice Pamela Beckles that there should be an upward movement in the sentence.
“The now convicted man is a professional criminal who has taken little or no consideration of his previous sentences for similar theft-related offences. No matter what the courts have done, he appears determined to carry on with these offences. Hence, it is submitted that the maximum starting point of five years should be fixed,” Williams said, adding that discounts should be given for Brewster’s early guilty plea and pre-trial custody.
