A 58-year-old unemployed man who stole chicken salami twice in one day from the same supermarket has been jailed for his crime.
Cecil Young was nabbed committing the crime at Massy Stores at Stony Ground, as Shelicia Hooper, a loss prevention officer who knew about his habit of stealing salami from the store, kept him under observation on June 29.
He pleaded guilty at the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court to charges that on June 29, at Stoney Ground, he stole two Robert Danish Cooked Chicken Salami valued at EC$61.90, and one of the same brand of salami, valued at EC$30.95, the property of Massy Stores, Stoney Ground.
Young pleaded guilty to two charges of theft when he was arraigned before Senior Magistrate Tamika McKenzie at the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court.
The facts, presented by the prosecutor, Corporal of Police 817 Stapleton, are that at 5:30 p.m. on June 29, Hooper was on duty at the store monitoring the closed-circuit television (CCTV).
She saw Young, dressed in a black shirt, black pants, and a black backpack, enter the store, take one Roberts Danish Cook Chicken Salami, and place it in his bag.
Hooper telephoned security and reported her observation and advised security not to allow Young to exit the building.
The security guard complied with the request.
Hooper then reviewed CCTV footage and saw that Young had entered the store about 15 minutes earlier, taken two of the same salami, placed them in his bag, and walked out of the store without paying for them.
Hooper then contacted the Criminal Investigation Department in Kingstown, and Police Constable 72 Boyd was among the officers who responded.
The security guard handed Young over to Boyd, who reviewed the surveillance footage.
Boyd cautioned and interviewed Young in the presence of PC534 Adams.
Young told the officers that he knew what he had done and, when shown the footage, agreed that he was the person in the video.
The magistrate, who watched the CCTV footage in court, sentenced Young to eight months and 12 days in prison for the two salami.
And, for the single salami valued at EC$30.95, Young was sentenced to 7.5 months in prison.
The sentences are to run consecutively.
The magistrate also ordered that the salami be given back to the supermarket.