Man begs magistrate for “a last chance”

court2A man with a long list of convictions  begged magistrate Bernard Pacquette for “a last chance” after he was arrested for several breaches of the law on August 31.

Jervier Gordon, of Portsmouth who resides in Roseau, appeared in court on September 2.

He was arrested and charged with threats to police, obstruction, battery on police, resisting arrest and armed with an offensive weapon (a knife).

He pleaded guilty to the charges of being armed with an offensive weapon but not guilty to all the other charges.

The prosecution told the court that the police was responding to a report and Gordon was seen throwing a knife into the Roseau River.

He was approached by the police and when asked to be searched, an argument ensued resulting in the police using force to arrest him.

The policeman involved in the arrest told the court that Gordon, who has only one wrist, told him “Officer, I will kill you.”

The threat was reportedly repeated several times.

But in a sworn statement, Gordon admitted to having the knife but said it was not to harm anyone but to be used for making coconut brooms.

According to him, someone had taken his lighter and money and he was running after the person who had refused to give him his belongings.

In his statement and under cross examination, he denied threatening the police, resisting arrest and beating the police. “I never did such…” he told the court.

After carefully examining the evidence, magistrate Pacquette ruled that he was not satisfied that the police had proved their case against Gordon and dismissed the charges of threats, battery and resisting arrest.

But he found him guilty on the charge of obstruction. “When you are being arrested, you must be told why,” the magistrate stated. “I also find the reason you gave for having the knife a legitimate one but you have pleaded guilty to that.”

Before sentencing Gordon begged for mercy. “Give me a break…I need another chance, I am really trying hard to behave, give me something to do, I can do better, I also need counseling,” he said.

Gordon’s court file revealed that he has a string of convictions for violent crimes and earlier this year was jailed for 3 months for battery.

He was given a six months sentence suspended for one year on the charge being armed with an offensive weapon and no separate penalty for the charge of obstruction.

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4 Comments

  1. charles joseph
    September 4, 2013

    deeply concerned you have children long hard senence for what

  2. Justice and Truth
    September 4, 2013

    He was recently in jail and he did not change. This man is playing on the magistrate’s compassion or the Court System for that matter.
    When he is out, how is he going to change? He should be imprisoned for no less than one year. Then, hopefully, he would learn a lesson and change.
    The only person who can really change that man is Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Healer of hearts. He must worship him, pray to him and perform acts of love and mercy. Was he not taught this by his parent(s)?
    He may have been baptized a Catholic Christian. I have no idea. I can only surmise for Dominica was always a predominantly Catholic country.
    If he was taught about God and he forgot it or that he was not taught, someone should teach him.
    This should be his sentence to give him a Holy Bible, a Holy Rosary too, to make him go to Church on especially Sundays, to teach him to pray, to love, to respect others, to contain himself in many other respects and to perform community work, the latter if he is capable of doing so.
    He said he wants something to do and he wants counseling. It appears that he is not an unintelligent man. He could be taught a skill.
    This man should also be monitored. If he was not ordered to report to the police station a few times a week, the police should visit his home to ensure that he is conducting himself appropriately. He should be under police surveillance. This should hopefully change him. The proper authorities could do something about helping him to live a law-abiding life. Some of them are crying for help but have no one to assist them or that those in authorities turn a blind eye and a deaf ear.
    How can crimes be eradicated in Dominica if the authorities do not do something permanent about it as also ensuring that those criminals do not return to a life of crime? God is taking note!

  3. Deeply Concerned
    September 3, 2013

    NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO more chances!!!!..That should be his last…Give him a longggggggggggggggggggg hard sentence…Hopefully he have plenty time in JAIL to lean one or two things and realizes what he has done is horribly bad!…….

  4. clr
    September 3, 2013

    :cry: :-? :-P :?: :twisted: :twisted: :mrgreen: :) :roll:

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