Man ordered to pay compensation for stolen rings

Magistrate Manila Renee told a 23-year-old man that he had sacrificed a lifelong friendship after he admitted stealing four rings valued at $2 700 from a friend.

“You have allowed a lifetime of friendship to be lost over $1 000,” the magistrate said to Ahkel Ryan Harewood, of New Orleans, St Michael, after he pleaded guilty to stealing four rings valued at $2 700 belonging to Leonard Harewood between June 2 and August 10.

Prosecutor Sergeant Kenmore Phillips told the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court No. 2 that the two men had been friends when Leonard lent Ahkel four rings to attend an event. The arrangement was that Ahkel would return the property within two weeks. But the rings were not returned and, when asked, the accused told the complainant that two of them had been lost. Leonard told the accused to return the remaining jewellery, but he never did.

While browsing Facebook Marketplace, the complainant’s girlfriend saw the rings advertised for sale online, and a report was made to the police. During the investigation, police recovered three of the rings at a pawn establishment, but they never found the last one.

The accused, who has no previous convictions, told the court that he had worn the rings on a cruise, lost one of them and pawned the others to get money.

“I gine be honest Ma’am. I was in desperate times, and I needed the money,” he said, adding that he had pawned two of the rings for $600 and the other for $400.

Mitigating on her client’s behalf, attorney Rachelle Ward, who appeared in association with defence lawyer Shadia Simpson, urged the court to consider his age, remorse and the recovery of the rings.

She said: “He is aware that his friendship is now lost and is sorry and willing to compensate the complainant. He is a first-time offender; and no violence was used in the commission of the offence.”

But the magistrate said: “You sold your friendship. Here you had a good friend and you have now lost this friendship, and good people are often hard to find. If you needed money, you could have asked for help.”

She ordered Harewood to pay $250 in compensation for the ring by Friday, failing which he will spend one week in prison.

(JB)