50-year-old Anthony “Boulay” Scotland of Pointe Michel has until February 28, 2023, to pay the sum of $798.27 as compensation to 86-year-old Clayton Emmanuel of the same community after he pleaded guilty to stealing grocery items at the home of Emmanuel on February 5, 2023. In default, he will go to jail for two months.
Magistrate Pearl Williams also gave him a 6 months jail sentence for one year.
Facts of the matter
Clayton Emmanuel lives alone in the two-story building in Pointe Michel, he is a retired postman from London. On February 5, 2023, at about 12 noon he secured his house and went upstairs to have a nap. At about 1 pm he heard his gate opening and then heard a sound downstairs of his house. Listening closely he realized that someone was in the house so he went to investigate and saw Boulay with two bags in his downstairs. He shouted “hey” and Scotland then ran out and made good his escape.
On checking his fridge he realized that the fish he had bought and packaged was gone and several of his grocery items were also gone. He then called the Pointe Michel Police Station where he made a formal report.
On February 6, 2023, at about 4 am the police went to the home of Scotland where he was met and informed him of the report but he denied it saying “what I do…I doh go in nobody’s house.” He was arrested on suspicion and taken into custody. Later that day he was taken from police cells and brought to the home of Emmanuel who identified him as the person he had seen in his house. He again denied it.
The police then conducted a search of his house and found a clear plastic bag with fish and asked him about it. He replied saying that he had purchased it at “Super’s Shop.” He was then brought to Super’s Shop, but the shop owner said he had not sold fish or anything to him. Emmanuel was then shown the plastic bag with the fish and he identified it as belonging to him.
Mitigation
In court, Scotland pleaded guilty to the charge of theft but claimed that he went to the home of Emmanuel to see him, opened the door, and entered and took the items. “I was wrong to do it…it was not premeditated but I didn’t steal all that they claim,” he said. He told the court that he was employed under the National Employment Programme (NEP) and will be signing a two-year contract and was willing to pay a fine.
“Don’t lie to me…because you will make things worse for yourself, look at the man he can barely walk, you took all he had to eat at his home, seems you thought you were in a supermarket, you took his meat, beers air bed and all,” she said.
She stated that the court took into consideration his guilty plea and the fact that he had not wasted the court’s time. “You have a recurring habit, I am going to give you a chance, because sending you to prison will not help you, go and fix yourself and seek counseling, if you are back before the court between now and February 9, 2024, you will automatically go to jail for six months,” she stated.
Scotland is no stranger to the court, having been convicted in 2020 and 2021 for theft and also has a number of other convictions.