Chief Magistrate orders men to write letter of apology

Jordon Forde, 18, and Jason Alexander, 25, both labourers of Mayreau, received jail sentences of 11 and six months respectively on Wednesday,{{more}} for illegally boarding a yacht and stealing US$3,320, the property of 54-year-old Jose Calderin.

Chief Magistrate Sonya Young also ordered the men to write a letter of apology to Calderin for their actions.

“This not only looks bad on you, it looks bad on the country,” Magistrate Young told the men.

She rejected the request of Forde who had pleaded that he be made to pay a fine, saying that anybody who comes to her court with similar offences will go to prison.

“You are not going to destroy my breadfruit tree,” Young said, after passing judgement.

She told the court that such cases made her angry.

The men appeared at the Serious Offences Court and heard that Calderin and a group of relatives and friends had arrived at the Tobago Cays on Friday, August 17 sometime after midday.

They left the vessel around 6:30 p.m. and when they returned at 8:30 p.m., they discovered that the yacht had been ransacked and the quantity of cash missing.

The matter was reported to the Union Island Police and the men were subsequently arrested and charged.

The court also heard that US$2,000 of the total amount was recovered.

Both men pleaded guilty to the charges and Forde explained to the court that he and Alexander had gone to look for whelks.

He said that they saw the yacht and decided to venture on.

Counsel for the defendants Mira Commissiong said that they will appeal the sentence. (DD)