Plywood thief fined over $1,000

The facts of a case before Magistrate Ossie Lewis involving Benjamin Alleyne indicated that he and another man stole 12 sheets of plywood from a woman’s home in Warner, but according to his lawyer the circumstances surrounding the incident were quite different.

Attorney Darius Jones told a Roseau Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday that Alleyne’s actions could be described as local patois saying, “voleh volay voleh et Diab ca wi”; meaning a thief robs a thief and the devil laughs.

Jones said that the plywood, valued at $1,383.04, was not stolen from the complainant’s home, but from an area in the community, where another individual had already stolen and placed. According to Jones, the thief assumedly was to return to pick up, but his client had swapped the plywood before this could happen.

“It was not a case where the defendant actually went in and broke into somebody’s house … The person (defendant) came across the items, they were taken from somebody else’s place and the defendant went to help himself,” Jones said.

“The thief had already taken the plywood … and placed it somewhere,” Jones added.

Nelson Laurent of Petite Savanne, who was jointly charged with Alleyne of Kingshill, pleaded not guilty while Alleyne pleaded guilty to the theft of the plywood, which occurred between March 10 and April 2, 2010.

The trial for Laurent’s case was adjourned to September 30, 2010 while the facts and sentencing were heard against Alleyne.

The court learned that only eight sheets of plywood were recovered. Jones said that his client could not account for the remaining four. He said that the previous thief had possibly gone with the missing four.

Jones said that his client was remorseful and was of good character before the present offense.

“It’s a blemish that he could do without,” Jones said.

According to the facts of the case presented by the police prosecutor, the complainant had stored the T 1-11 grove plywood in her father’s house sometime in March, and when she returned to the village on April 2, 2010 she saw that the items were missing.

Alleyne readily admitted to the police of his involvement in stealing the plywood with Laurent, and cooperated with the authorities, according to the facts.

Alleyne was ordered to pay $459 by way of compensation for the missing sheets of plywood by April 30, 2010 or he will face two months in prison. He also faces a fine of $800 which is to be paid by June 30 or he faces four months of prison on the charge of theft.

– Hermisha Rolle, Staff reporter