A Sandy Bay man who has almost 20 convictions for burglary but no known history of mental illness asked the court to send him to the psychiatric hospital rather than to prison.
“Oh boy. You mek me laugh,” Magistrate Bertie Pompey told Philbert Lewis at the Colonarie Magistrate’s Court.
“How you arrived at that?” Pompey asked the defendant during the hearing recently.
“He went to Mental Home before?” the magistrate asked the prosecutor, referring to the Mental Health and Rehabilitation Center.
“Not that we are aware of,” prosecutor Corporal Delando Charles responded.
Lewis told the court: “I went to Mental Home recently, the other day, in November; early up.”
However, a police officer in the courtroom who said he knows the defendant very well said this was not the case.
Lewis, 38, pleaded guilty to a charge that between Nov. 20 and 23, he entered the liquor and provision shop of Sezena Shallow of Sandy Bay as a trespasser and stole six packs of Panasonic batteries, valued at EC$42; six packs of AA batteries, valued at EC$42; six packs of matches, valued at EC$20; one roll of foil paper, valued at EC$8.50; eight small packets of Kiss Cakes, valued at EC$16 and six big packets of Kiss Cakes, valued at EC$15, total value EC$143.50, the property of the virtual complainant.
He pleaded not guilty to a charge that on Nov. 27, at Sandy Bay, he entered the property of Sezena Shallow, of Sandy Bay, with intent to commit an offence, to wit theft.
He also pleaded not guilty to a charge that on Nov. 27, at Sandy Bay, he entered the property of Sezena Shallow with intent to commit burglary at the liquor and provision shop of Sezena Shallow, of Sandy Bay.
The court heard that on Nov. 20, at 9:15 pm, the virtual complainant secured her shop.
About 6:30 a.m., the next day, she observed empty boxes in her shop and when someone came to buy Kiss Cakes, she realised her shop had been burglarised.
She reported the matter to the police whose investigation led to Lewis. None of the stolen items were recovered.
Asked if he had anything to say, the defendant told the court, “No please”
Pompey observed that Lewis had almost 20 convictions — all for burglary.
He said that he has a responsibility to protect the public and that it appears that the defendant cannot be reformed.
The magistrate pointed out that Lewis has been sentenced to prison sentences ranging between five and 14 months, but still persisted in his criminality.
“You had opportunities to reform yourself. You not changing! I have a duty to protect the public,” Pompey told Lewis.
“I’m satisfied reformation don’t work; look like you are hopeless; you are gone, you are beyond redemption. So only thing left is for me to send you to prison.”
“Mental Home,” Lewis blurted out, causing the magistrate to laugh.
Pompey sentenced the defendant to two years in prison.
“Go and rest yourself,” he told Lewis.
The magistrate adjourned the other matters in which Lewis pleaded not guilty to Jan. 29, 2024, and transferred them to the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.