A 35-year-old man was on Monday remanded in custody to await sentencing by the High Court for robbing a woman, at knifepoint, of an EC$200 cellular phone on March 4, 2022.
A nine-member jury deliberated for one hour and three minutes at High Court No. 1 before returning a guilty verdict against the defendant, Jeffery Cuffy, whose address has been listed as Campden Park/Questelles/Sion Hill.
Cuffy who found guilty of a charge that on March 4, at Campden Park, being armed with a knife, he stole a cell phone valued at ECS200, the property of Ulan Samuel and at the time of so doing and in order to do so put the said Ulan Samuel in fear of being then and there subjected to force.
Karim Nelson, an assistant director of public prosecution, represented the Crown in the trial in which Cuffy was unrepresented.
The case against Cuffy was that on March 4, 2022, Samuel was at her workplace in Campden Park. She was required to be there for 8 a.m. but generally got there early.
On the date in question, Samuel arrived after 7 a.m. and sat outside on the wall at the main gate waiting for place to open.
While waiting, Samuel was playing a game on her cellular phone when Cuffy approached her armed with a knife.
Samuel became frightened and got up and started to run. Cuffy pursued her and shouted, “Give me that! Give me that!”
She realised it was the phone that Cuffy was referring to because she had left her bag behind when she ran.
Cuffy caught up with Samuel and snatched the phone from her hand and escaped.
The prosecutor argued that the threat of force was based on Cuffy’s conduct.
After the guilty verdict, Nelson asked the court to order that a social inquiry report be conducted.
The judge, Justice Richard Floyd set March 25 as the date for sentencing and ordered that the report be completed by March 18 and the prosecution’s submission on sentencing be submitted by March 20.
When the judge attempted to explain to Cuffy the next steps, the defendant said that he would prefer if the report only include his comments, saying that the people where he currently lives do not know him.
He further told the court that his mother is overseas and he does not get along well with his relatives who live in the country.
“It would not make sense on that part,” he said.
The judge told Cuffy he could explain this when the social worker goes to see him in prison as part of preparation of the report.