Jobless man records a conviction for every year of life

A31-year-old unemployed man racked up his 31st conviction on Wednesday when he was sentenced to six months in jail for property damage.

Lamal Valance Whitney, of no fixed place of abode, was sentenced by Chief Magistrate Ian Weekes in the No. 1 District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court, for unlawfully damaging a window and a door belonging to Jonathan Holder, intending to damage the property or being reckless as to whether the same property would be damaged on October 7.

After the admission of guilt, Station Sergeant Chrisna Williams informed the court that Whitney went to Holder’s home begging for money. Despite being turned away, he persisted and eventually damaged the property.

The police prosecutor noted that at his current age, Whitney now has “one conviction for every day of his life”.But in his defence, the convict said most of those priors were for offences he did not commit.As for the latest crime, he explained that he went to the complainant’s home to collect money owed him for work done. Whitney said that instead of paying him, the homeowner threw salt water and Clorox in his face.

Whitney admitted that he got angry and damaged the window and door because “I was unfaired with this thing [and] I was disrespected”.

After the chief magistrate imposedthe sentence on him, he exclaimed, “Six months, Sir?” and added that he did not want any more hard times in jail.

“I get more than six months [before] to check myself, and it didn’t work,” he told Magistrate Weekes.

As he was being taken away by prison officers, Whitney repeatedly declared, in relation to his actions: “I was right, I wasn’t wrong. I was 100 per cent right.”

Suspended sentence, $1 000 fine for Stoute