A Campden Park man was, on Monday, jailed for destroying a goat and threatening to kill the owner and his father.
The Serious Offences Court ordered Orwin Small, 40, to serve five months in jail after he pleaded guilty to a charge that last Friday, Sept. 13, at Campden Park, without lawful excuse, he destroyed one black and white ewe goat, value EC$500, the property of Nahshon Neverson, of Campden Park.
Chief Magistrate Rechanne Browne further ordered Small to compensate Neverson in the sum of EC$500 by Feb. 28, 2020.
She did not outline a sentence if the man fails to pay the compensation.
The chief magistrate also jailed Small for two months each on two counts of using threatening language.
The sentences will run concurrently.
The court heard that last Friday, Neverson tied his ewe goat in his yard about 7 p.m.
About 10 minutes later, he saw Small cutting the animal’s throat with a cutlass.
Neverson’s father spoke to Small, but he persisted, resulting in the death of the animal.
Small was taken into custody at the Questelles Police Station and while there, Neverson and his father visited the station and Small offered to pay them for the goat.
Neverson refused, however, saying that the matter was in the hands of the police.
On hearing this, Small proceeded to tell each of the men, “When me come out ah jail, me go kill yo’ and me go tell the magistrate so too.”
In mitigation, Small told the court that he is a farmer planting his ital (vegetables) which animals continue to destroy.
He said he has made reports since June 9 and has gotten no redress.
Small also told the court that people are chopping down his stuff and he therefore felt that his only right was to kill the animals.
He said that he feels his pain when animals destroy his crops and others should feel it too when their animals are killed.
In his submission on sentencing, Senior Prosecutor Adolphus Delplesche asked, rhetorically, how could one explain making such a threat while in police custody.
“That is total disrespect and disregard for law and order. That deserves a custodial sentence,” he said.
In handing down the sentence, the chief magistrate noted that the maximum penalty is two years in prison and that Small had entered an early guilty plea but had shown no remorse.
She said that Small had demonstrated wanton disregard for other people’s property.
Although many people feel thier goats have the right to eat anyone else’s crops and flowers whenever they please, threatening to kill someone over it is going too far. This guy killing the goat may also be going too far but the existing laws concerning people allowing thier goats to destroy people’s property has to be changed. How many times have goats and sheep destroyed my plants? Until now there is nothing serious you can do about it. You can detain the goat whereby the owner just comes and gets it or YOU have to care for that goat until the owner comes and pays you, which will not happen anyway. Maybe a new law should say that it is perfectly fine if the offended person destroys the goat, then the owners may start to take better care of them.