Convicted thief arrested for late payments

After several attempts, 22-year-old Leon Mitchel of Newtown failed to convince Justice Birnie Stephenson-Brooks to grant a request for extended time to pay a fine and compensation which he has owed the court since in January.

Mitchel, Cassandra Carbon, 17, and 25-year-old Nigel Steven of the same community had pleaded guilty to stealing  over $18,000 from a Morne Daniel home in April 2008. They were ordered to pay $6290.60 each to complainant Joan Cools-Lartigue, and fined $1,000 by the court to be paid within two months.

The defendants would have faced one year in jail if they failed to pay the fine, according to their sentence.

Mitchel told the High Court yesterday that he had owed money for both himself and Carbon which amounted to $14,000, but had not been able to make a single payment due to illness and “rough times.”

He claimed that following his involvement in accident, he had to spend the money which he had been collecting to fund his medical treatment. He also told the court that in addition to supporting a toddler, he recently had another baby with his girlfriend and things had been “rough on him.”

According to him, he was advised by an uncle that the best option to pay off the money was to save and take a loan, which he had decided to do.

When questioned as to why no payments were made, Mitchel told the judge that he was trying to collect the $14,000 in order to take a loan of $14,000.

Justice Stephenson-Brooks said she was not convinced and told the defendant, “The other person charged with you done pay off …You were supposed to pay $1,000 in two months … I am not granting your application … Officer, you can take him down to the cells down there…” Stephenson-Brooks told the court.

According to the facts of the case presented by state lawyer Wayne Nordé before Justice Brian Cottle during the January 2010 criminal assizes, Carbon-a 15 year-old at the time of the incident- was out of school and would normally be at the home of the complainant since her mother worked there.

The complainant owns a restaurant in Roseau and went to work at about 8 a.m. on the day of the incident on April 18,2008. Carbon and her mother arrived at Cools-Lartigue’s home at 8 a.m. also. About an hour later, the complainant got a call from Carbon’s mother stating that someone had broken and entered her home. She (the complainant) was told that a man named Mitch had done this.

On Police Constable Carlisle Carbon’s arrival at the scene of the crime, he noticed that eight strips of wood had been ripped from the closet door.

Cools-Lartigue later told him that a sum of money was missing from the closet.

‘Mitch’ was questioned and then released based on his alibi. Subsequently, Carbon admitted to committing the offense while being questioned by the investigating officer.

She explained how she went into the complainant’s kitchen while at the home, took a plastic bag, went into the room and entered the closet to take the cash. She told police that she placed the cash in the garbage bags and placed them into the bins outside the house then called her friend “Shabin” to come pick up the bags.

Mitchel and Stevens were later arrested and admitted to spending most of the money on items including shoes, clothing, and electronics, among other items. Small amounts of cash were recovered.