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4. FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2016. THE VINCENTIAN
Court
‘Electricity theft will not be tolerated’ concurrently. problem curtailed, and in going home, to a toilet in electricity was a solar Francis had been found forward, we would be requesting Francis’s yard, and panel on top his FIDEL NEVERSON, Acting guilty on both charges on May that the police bring charges then to his house. house. Manager Customer Services St. 13, but the magistrate delivered against persons who we find The wires were partly However, Vincent Electricity Services his decision on May 27. abstracting electricity,” buried. investigations (VINLEC), made it abundantly Neverson told THE Neverson disclosed. The illegal revealed that that clear while speaking to THE VINCENTIAN that he had According to him, electricity connection was solar panel could not VINCENTIAN on Tuesday, that heard of a similar case here in theft results in the loss of removed and the produce enough electricity theft will not be which a company was convicted revenue for the company, as it police at the electricity to run the tolerated. some years ago, but he admitted costs money to generate, Mesopotamia Police appliances in his Neverson said VINLEC is that, to his knowledge, the case transmit and distribute that Station were duly house. happy that someone was involving Francis was the first electricity which the offender is informed. It was also recently convicted and in which a prison sentence was consuming, but for which he is A report was revealed that Francis sentenced to prison in one of the handed down. not paying. subsequently made to Hancell Francis was not a VINLEC more blatant cases of electricity “We are happy to have will serve time Evidence presented by the Corporal Gamal customer. theft the company has had to received judgment in our favour, prosecution at the Hancell Bowens at the The defendant had for ‘thiefing’ address. and we hope that it acts as a Francis trial revealed that on Criminal no legal electricity. And he hopes that a strong deterrent to those who are or January 29 this year, VINLEC Investigation representation in the message has been sent that who may be considering stealing linemen were doing Department (CID) who carried matter. VINLEC will not tolerate this electricity.” maintenance work at Richland out investigations, during which Francis was charged under crime. Neverson disclosed that he Park when they received certain he executed a search warrant at section 220, chapter 171 of the Neverson explained that in has been in the Customer information. As a result, they Francis’s Richland Park home. Criminal Code of the revised the recent case, the offender ran Services Department for only went to Francis’s home. The search uncovered copper edition of the Laws of St. wires from a VINLEC pole to six months, during which time Francis was not met at home, wires with hooks similar to the Vincent and the Grenadines his house and attempted to about five cases of abstracting but the workers traced ones the VINLEC workers had 2009. conceal them. electricity were brought to his electricity wires hooked onto a found hooked to the pole line. The offence carries a On May 27, Magistrate attention. line from a VINLEC electrical In his defence, Francis maximum penalty of two years Rickie Burnett, sitting at the The one involving Francis pole, not too far from Francis’s claimed that his source of in prison. Mesopotamia Magistrate’s and another were Court, sentenced the offender, brought to the Hancell Francis, 46-year-old attention of the mason of Richland Park, to six police. Up to press months in prison for using time Wednesday the THE FAILURE of the before the court. The matter, which hard drive valued electricity without lawful other one was still was adjourned on several police to have a case file EC$150 and Delpleche had made authority, and six months for occasions, was slated for some of these calls EC$43,648.96 in cash. submitted on time, under investigation. hearing last Friday. The items and cash resulted in three dishonestly causing electricity “We have been during interviews with However, when it was THE VINCENTIAN. amounted to a total of persons, charged with to be diverted. taking more serious called, Senior Prosecutor EC$45,955.01. the August 2015 The sentences will run steps to have this He told the Stories by HAYDN HUGGINS
Case file not ready, trio discharged
Men charged with stealing from Brewery THREE MEN were each granted $14,500 bail with one surety on Monday when they appeared at the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court charged with stealing from the St. Vincent Brewery Ltd at Campden Park, on June 6. Kelroy Patterson, Marcus Patterson and Kwasi Gurley, all of Lower Questelles, have been charged with the theft of two tarpaulins and Hairoun drinks valued EC$14,346.65, the property of the Brewery. The trio pleaded not guilty when they appeared before Magistrate Bertie Pompey at the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court on Monday. As part of their bail conditions, the trio was placed on a curfew from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily until the outcome of the trial. The men were also ordered to report to the Questelles Police Station every Monday and Thursday between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. The matter has been adjourned to July 25.
burglary at the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Community College,, being discharged at the Serious Offences Court last Friday. But the matter could be brought back when the prosecution is organized. Kamoni Antoine, Shane Cabral and Nicole Bailey, who were all residents of Glen at the time of their arrest, September last year, were charged jointly with entering the Division of Arts and Sciences Campus of the Community College, and stealing a Proline Electronic Digital safe valued EC$480, a Samsung tablet valued EC$1,676.05, an external
The offence was allegedly committed between August 28 and 30 last year. Antoine, who was 24 at the time and Cabral, who was 18, had made their first appearance at the Serious Offences Court in connection with the matter, September 16 last year, and were offered bail. Bailey, 23 at the time and a Junior Clerk at the Campus, was subsequently arrested and charged. She was also offered bail when she appeared at the Serious Offences Court on September 21.
Adolphus Delpleche informed the Court that he did not have the case file, and requested an adjournment. But Chief Magistrate Rechanne Browne discharged the trio, and indicated that when the prosecution gets its house in order, the matter could be brought back. The Senior Prosecutor has repeatedly called on investigators to have their case files submitted early so that the files could be properly perused, as prosecutors have to be well prepared to present their matters
publication on Wednesday that, “Prosecution is serious business, and no prosecutor will want to be in a position where he/she is prosecuting a matter unprepared.” Delpleche pointed out that not knowing the strengths and weaknesses of the case could be very embarrassing, and would make the prosecutor look unprofessional in the eyes of the court. “I do not want to be in such a position,” he declared.
Critical witness in P.I never located WYNARD MAPP, a resident of Calder who was facing four charges, including attempted murder, was discharged at the Preliminary Inquiry (PI) on Tuesday, after several failed attempts to locate the virtual complainant and critical witness Rawlston Samuel. Mapp was charged with attempting to murder Samuel, possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, assaulting Samuel causing bodily harm, and damaging a glass door belonging to Aul Bullock of Calder. The charges stemmed from an alleged shooting incident at Calder on November 9 last year, and all the matters were being heard together as they arose out of the same circumstances. Samuel was also a key witness in the damage to property matter in which four witnesses had testified. Samuel was called on Tuesday when the Preliminary Inquiry continued at the Serious Offences Court, but he was not present. Senior Prosecutor Adolphus Delpleche then told the court, “We made every
effort to find Mr. Samuel and we can’t find him. I call it close of play, and I say we have no case.” After Mapp was discharged, his lawyer, Ashelle Morgan, declared, while speaking to THE VINCENTIAN, “This is a victory for my client. He was deprived of his liberty for several months while on remand, and at the end of the day, the prosecution was unable to secure the attendance of a critical witness. So my client and I are very elated that justice has prevailed in this situation”. Delpleche told THE VINCENTIAN that several atte,l but he was never found, and the matter had been adjourned on several occasions to accommodate him. The Senior Prosecutor disclosed that on one occasion, the police contacted him by cellular phone and he indicated that he was fearful for his life, but since then, all efforts to contact and/or locate him have proved futile. Delpleche admitted that the prosecution had no case without Samuel’s evidence.