48-year old man of Fond Cole sentenced to 5 months’ jail after pleading guilty to 2 charges of theft

​48-year old Michael Alfred of Fond Cole was sentenced to 5 months in jail, after pleading guilty to two charges of theft. He pleaded not guilty to three other charges. Alfred appeared before Magistrate Gloria Augustine at the Roseau Magistrate Court on Monday 28th December 2015.He pleaded guilty to stealing one TCL flat screen television valued at EC $1,199 from Courts Dominica Limited on 9thNovember, and one steam & dry iron valued at EC $74.60 from J Astaphan & Company Limited, on 23 December 2015.
 
Alfred pleaded not guilty to stealing 1 black Coral cellphone valued at EC $299 on 22ndDecember 2015 at Fond Cole’, 1 iron from a Chinese establishment in Roseau on 23rdDecember 2015, and 1 black bag pack from another Chinese establishment that same day.
 
Police Prosecutor Davidson Cadette told the court thatat about 12:45pmon 9thNovember, Alfred entered Courts Dominica Ltd and proceeded to an area where the TCL televisions were on display. He took one of the TV’s in a box.A customer who witnessed the incident reported the matter. He also said that on 24thDecember 2015, Alfred was interviewed on an unrelated matter, and was questioned about the stolen television set.
 
Alfred stated as follows: “Boy all I can say is frustration. I was working in a place and them people doe want to pay me and that made me revert to my old ways”.Alfred told the investigating officer that he sold the television set to a Haitian man for $400. Alfred told presiding magistrate Gloria Augustine that he tries his best, but when he gets a job, they don’t pay him and that drives him to do the same old things again.
 
Before sentencing Alfred to 4 months in jail for stealing the televisionset, Magistrate Augustine said “you can’t fight fire with fire… two wrongs don’t make a right”.As regards the stolen iron from Astaphan, Police Prosecutor Davidson Cadette told the court that on 23rdDecember 2015 at about 3:30pm, Officer Moses was on duty when he saw Alfred and started a conversation with him. The officer noticed Alfred was carrying a black bag pack, and asked him to have a look inside. Alfred was said to be reluctant, but nonethelesshanded over the bag to the officer.
 
The officer noticed an iron in its original box inside the bag. He asked Alfred where he bought the iron, and Alfred replied, “I didn’t buy it. I take it by Astaphan. Give me a break nah officer”. He was sentenced to one month in jail to run consecutively with the four (4) months sentence he was given for the stolen television.Alfred is to return to court on 18thMarch 2016, to answer to the three charges to which he had pleaded not guilty.