Sunglasses thief jailed for a month

A man who claimed that he stole a pair of sunglasses from Beauty Culture to hide his injuries after being hit by a car, will spend the next month in jail.

Javid Clarke, age given as 40, was charged with stealing a pair of Ray Ban sunglasses, valued at $20 belonging to Demisa Walters of Queen’s Drive on January 17 in Kingstown.

When he appeared before Senior Magistrate, Rickie Burnett, at the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court, on January 21. Clarke pleaded his guilt to the offence.

He is said to have entered Beauty Culture, a cosmetic store in Kingstown at 8:39am on that Friday, picked up the shades, turned around and exited the store without paying ignoring the shouts of the store clerk for him to stop.

“Charge me and take me to court, I go pay for it, ” Clarke told the police at the Central Police Station on his arrest.

Clarke told the magistrate that he was going to Arnos Vale where he resides, on a Saturday night when “Bam”, a car knocked him down. In court there were large abrasions on the defendant’s shoulder and his face seemed to be wounded as well.

“I’m sorry to hear that, but how is that related to the sunglasses?” Burnett asked.

Clarke said that he fell on his side, and face, and proceeded to try and show the magistrate his bruises, but he was told this wasn’t necessary.

“So Mr Clarke – this is not meant to embarrass you in any particular way but you have a relatively long record,” the magistrate stated. “You’re in the habit of doing this,” Burnett told him, but he responded “No sir.”

Clarke said that it was a long time since he had been imprisoned ,and that it was last year.

The magistrate informed him that this was not a long time. He reminded Clarke that his last conviction was for stealing $49 worth of items, and he spent 12 months in prison for this.

Burnett was in the middle of contemplating what he should do with a man like Clarke, who he said would just go into prison, come back out and go back in again, and is “in out in out” when Clarke commented: “My mother don’t study me since I born.”

The magistrate told him he was a big man and “you’re at an age to take care of yourself.”

Burnett noted they all knew Clarke from being around Kingstown.

Prosecutor Corlene Samuel agreed that the defendant is a known character around Kingstown.”

She commented that this was the type of crime that Clarke was known for, namely theft, where “he just walk in, or walk up to somebody and he take something that they have “, and prison is not going to change him.

She was also wondering what to do with him, since he is not working.

when Clarke interjected with: “Your honour I does work”.

The magistrate also asked him whether he was on drugs, to which he replied that he was using Marijuana.

Contemplating aloud, the Senior magistrate opined that Clarke would repeat his action at another business place if he is ordered to pay for the stolen item. However,the defendant interjected firmly that he would never do that.

But Burnett was adamant this would happen; Clarke then burst into loud sobs without tears as he tried to convince the magistrate that ‘friends’ would pay for him.

Once this didn’t work he started sobbing without tears again, but these soon ended when the Senior Magistrate stated sharply “one month in prison.”