A man who in April stunned the court by saying just before his sentencing that he had pleaded not guilty to stealing a child’s school supplies was on Monday jailed for nine months for the crime.
Enos Browne, of Lowmans Windward, was convicted of burglary before the Serious Offences Court after a trial that included just three prosecution witnesses.
And while in April he had alleged that police had beaten him, he made no such claim during his trial, claiming only that the person caught on camera stealing the items was not him.
Senior Magistrate Colin John convicted Browne of a charge that on March 22, at Frenches, he entered the dwelling house of Sodel Hoyte of Frenches as a trespasser and stole one black North Face book bag, valued at $150 containing one scientific calculator, valued at EC$100; five exercise books valued at EC$10, one blue and yellow umbrella, valued at EC$35 and a quantity of pens, valued at EC$10 and one purple geometric reflective holographic backpack value at EC$150, containing a quantity of hair products, at value EC$100, total value EC$405 and US$150, the property of Calyah Clarke of Frenches.
Browne was initially arraigned at the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court on April 22 and entered what Senior Magistrate Tammika Mc Kenzie understood to have been a guilty plea.
Prosecutor acting Corporal of Police Corlene Samuel read the facts, telling the court that Hoyte, the virtual complainant (VC) lives at Frenches, with her granddaughter, a third-form student.
On March 22, about 5 p.m., the VC was at her home her granddaughter returned home from school.
The child placed her black North Face bookbag and purple Geometric Reflective Holographic backpack on a chair in the living room, about five feet from the front door.
Hoyte then sent her granddaughter to the nearby supermarket and the child left, leaving the front door and main gate open.
The VC went upstairs and waited for the child, who returned about 20 minutes later.
The two then began preparing for a camping activity and Hoyte sent her granddaughter for her umbrella, at which time the child realised that the backpacks were missing.
Hoyte reviewed the CCTV footage at her house and saw Browne walking onto her premises and leaving shortly after with her granddaughter’s bookbags on his back.
She reported the matter to the police and PC 979 Jack conducted an investigation, which led to Browne’s arrest.
Jack cautioned and interviewed Browne in the presence of PC 98 DaSilva, but Browne did not give a statement in writing.
After hearing the facts, Mc Kenzie then asked Browne if he had been keeping out of trouble and he said he had kept out of prison since 2012.
Asked what he has to say about his crime, Browne said, “Why police does have to beat up people and write what they want to write?”
“I can’t answer that. I am not a police,” McKenzie responded.
“They lash me with a box in my head two times. And I don’t have anything else to say,” Browne said.
The magistrate reminded Browne that the prosecutor had said that when the police interviewed him, he had said nothing but when he was shown the footage, he said it was not him and he did not know about the bag.
Browne told the court that when police showed him the footage, he told them “people look like people”.
Mc Kenzie then asked Browne if he had pleaded guilty because the police beat him up or of his free will.
The defendant then said he had pleaded not guilty.
The magistrate asked around the courtroom, including the media, and all of the people who said they had heard Browne’s plea said he had pleaded guilty.
However, Mc Kenzie vacated the plea and transferred the matter to the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court.
She said she was not wrong in taking the facts.
Mc Kenzie advised Browne to inform the other magistrate about his allegation that the police had beaten him.
It is time we get some Judges who are properly trained.