Magistrate cautions man charged with damaging 2 banks in Kingstown 

Senior Magistrate Rickie Burnett has cautioned a man who chalked up his second damage to property conviction even as he awaits trial on another such charge.

On April 22, at Kingstown Magistrate’s Court, Leswan Stewart, 20, of Edinboro, pleaded guilty to a charge that on April 19, at Kingstown, he damaged one 40″x1/8″×76.5″ show window valued at EC$765.60, the property of First St. Vincent Bank.

However when the facts were read and Stewart gave his mitigation, Senior Magistrate Rickie Burnett vacated the guilty plea and ordered a trial, which is slated for June 29.

However, on May 19, Stewart was again before the court, charged that on May 18, he damaged a 25″×78″ glass window, valued at EC$354, the property of Republic Bank.

The court heard that on May 18, Gregory Goodwill, manager of the Republic Bank, secured the bank’s premises and went home.

At 12:35 a.m. the following day, Clayton James and other employees of Guardsman SVG Ltd. were on mobile patrol and met Kevin “Cut-age” Harry sleeping outside the bank.

Ten minutes later, James was informed that the bank’s alarm had gone off and he and his colleagues responded. 

They met Harry and observed that a glass window was broken. The police intervened and pieces of broken glass and a stone were retrieved from  inside the building.

Stewart was arrested and charged.

In mitigation, he told the court that he was in Kingstown on a “hustle” and Harry asked him for a dollar and he did not give it to him.

Harry then pelted a stone at Stewart, who picked up a bottle from a nearby drain and pelted it at Harry.

The bottle smashed the glass window at the bank.

The magistrate asked Stewart why he pelts bottles and stones in Kingstown, where there are businesses all around.

“The anger,” Stewart responded.

The magistrate told him, when he does this, he risks damaging buildings.

“If you’re not working, where are you going to get the money to compensate? ‘Cause, clearly, something is going on with you!” Burnett told the defendant.

“I need to stop him with a sentence. He can’t be–” Burnett said, not finishing the sentence

He suggested that Stewart receive counselling from Marion House. Stewart, however, said he did not want to go to Marion House because there was someone there with whom he did not want to come into contact.

Burnett reserved his sentence for the following day.

The magistrate sentenced Stewart to three months imprisonment suspended for one year.

Stewart has a November 2020 conviction for damage to property. At that time, he begged Burnett not to send him to prison.

Burnett asked him if he had compensated Grantley “Ipa” Constance EC$3,047 for damaging his property.

Stewart told the court that he had not.

The magistrate had ordered Stewart to pay the compensation or go to prison for four months.

Back then, Stewart had pleaded guilty to damaging the left rear window and tailgate of a Toyota Rav-4 SUV.