Single mom gets hard time for theft

courtA single mother of Cork Street, Roseau, who is a repeat theft offender, will learn the hard way that stealing is not a good idea after she was sentenced to six months in jail at hard labour.

Shanika Pollock, 35, appeared in court on Thursday after being charged for stealing a quantity of toys from Jolly’s Toy Store located on King George V Street in Roseau on July 16, 2014.

She pleaded guilty to the offense.

Police Prosecutor, Sergeant Constance Cuffy who presented the facts to the court said at about 11:30 am Pollock entered the store and proceeded to the section where the toys were displayed.

A security officer noticed she was wandering around, taking items from a shelf and placing them in a black plastic bag.

She proceeded to the cashier but only paid for two items.

She then left the store but was stopped the security officer who informed her that he noticed she placed some items in the plastic bag.

The bag was taken and the items found.

A report was made to the police who soon arrived on the scene.

The bag was then handed over them.

Pollock was then transported to the Roseau Police Station where she was informed of the report made against her.

“Officer I was willing to pay for the items,” she responded.

In court, Pollock burst into tears saying that she is a single parent and is struggling to maintain two children.

“I am trying my best to take care of my kids,” she stated. “It happened unexpectedly. I don’t want my children to suffer like how I suffered without a mother and father. That’s why I end up doing these things.”

Magistrate Bernard Pacquette cautioned Pollock saying he noticed she has developed a pattern of stealing and is certain that her children will not appreciate her being a thief.

“Because you have a baby you cannot go to prison? You are the only thief who got all that chances and using the kids to the max,” he remarked.

To his remarks Pollock responded, “Circumstances made me what I am.”

Pollock has at least 12 convictions of theft.

She served a two-year sentence for wounding in 2009.

On March 21, 2013 she was sentenced to one year in prison suspended for 24 months for stealing.

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32 Comments

  1. Jenn
    July 22, 2014

    Circumstances has absolutely nothing to do with stealing toys, food I can understand you were just being greedy hanging your hat where your hands cannot reach.

  2. charlo
    July 21, 2014

    The magistrates have given this young lady many chances and she does not learn. Whenever she goes to stealing she takes the child with her. Ever since I know Miss Pollock alias ‘Speed’, stealing has been her best friend. So please don’t blame the magistrates; they have given her many chances.

  3. July 20, 2014

    Maybe she needs a correction unit not prison. To the person who said prison for toys it is the principle or the matter, I do hope that she learns her lesson and takes the right path. I wish her all the best in the future.

  4. anonymous2
    July 19, 2014

    It seems like only select thieves are caught and punished. The rest of us get no resolution to theifts.

  5. July 19, 2014

    This is just one more example of what can happen to an individual and a family when somebody violates the moral code God has given us in the Holy Scriptures.

    There are consequences for committing the sin of fornication. The economic struggles of single motherhood is only one of them. People would be spared so much grief and pain if they would only receive Jesus Christ as their Savior and make HIM Lord of their Lives. This involves living by the Word of God and being guided HIM.

    We are sorry for this lady. It is noted that she is very much a repeat offender. Added to this she has had ample warning. Many agree that she should receive jail time. The question is who will take care of her children. So this crime creates problems for society. Fornication (sex outside marriage) degrades a people. It can bring down a nation.

    It has been said Ms. Pollock should receive counseling. Both modern social work and psychology follow the medical model and would treat compulsive stealing as a disease called kleptomania. The key to success is the individual must want to change, and work with the counselor.

    We need laws, police, and judges. Those who break the law must face justice. But there is a very harsh tone running through these comments. We also need a kinder more gentle society. God will forgive all those who turn to Him.
    Regardless of how serious our offences were they are blotted out the moment we look to Calvary, and trust what Christ did for us on the cross to put our sins away. Please read 1 John 1:7, and Hebrews 8:12.

    The problem in this woman is the same problem in every one of us. In each of us it expresses itself differently. Not all of us are kleptomaniacs. But each of us were born with a fallen broken nature we inherited from Adam and Eve. Evangelical Christian call it the Adamic nature. From it comes all the sinful desires, and compulsions. This is WHY we sin. We were born with a sinful nature – a nature bent in he direction of sin.

    The road to healing and deliverance for Ms. Pollock is the same for all of us. She (we) must face the problem (however it manifests in each of our lives) and recognize it for what it is. Call it by its right name. It is SIN! It must be dealt with as SIN.

    The Bible tells us that Christ on the cross took all our sins upon Himself. He suffered, bled, and died for our guilt. By doing so He paid the price in full for our salvation.
    This not only purchased our FORGIVENESS but also our healing and DELIVERANCE from the power and bondage of sin. Please take your Bible and read Isaiah 53: 4-6, Romans 5:6-8.

    We must individually and in a personal way believe this according to John 3:16, and receive Christ as our Savior by asking Him to come into our heart according to St. John 1:11,12, Revelation 3:20, 1 John 5:11,12. When we receive Christ we are spiritually born again with a new nature . The old nature remains within us. This is why Christians sometimes fail. But as we grow in grace the new nature becomes stronger and the old nature (the Adamic nature) becomes weaker! The change within us appears on the outside, and the new life becomes obvious for the world to see! The things we once loved we now hate and the things we once hated we now love!

    Christ within us begins the process of healing. He changes us from the inside out. The chains break and fall away. Anything less than this is only treating the symptoms.

    I invite you to visit our website

    http://www.livinghopeministries.ca

    Click onto the EAGLE COURSE. It can be studied from the screen or copied absolutely free.

    The first lesson will give you more information on how to receive Christ as your Savior and begin a new life.

    Sincerely, Rev. Donald Hill. International Evangelist,.

  6. July 19, 2014

    I would certainly excuse her bad habit if she was stealing food ,clothes and shoes for her kids but toys no way….this woman is simply teaching her children to learn what she is doing ,because sooner or later they will have the full knowledge of her bad habits ;nne the less in as much as the law always make the situation end up nicely for her she takes it as an open door..how is she feeling by leaving her kids alone if she really love her kids? she is just a waste of space.

  7. Country Girl
    July 19, 2014

    Hey,
    Who remembers the paper windmill we used to make as kids? We would put a coconut straw through the centre of it, and place a balata fruit( a little shrub that grows wild) at the end of the straw so that the windmill would not fall out. We would then run a couple yards up or down the main road. The windmill would spin as we run. Voila we had a toy.

    • Anonymous
      July 22, 2014

      Lamest toy…ever

    • Anonymous
      July 22, 2014

      We had soo much fun playing with these toys. Dolls with the banana flower and wooden trucks with cut out rubbers, rubber band balls, slip and slides with a cardboard on a dirt hill the list goes on and on.

  8. Cousin d'Arab
    July 19, 2014

    What happened to the red clinic mam? Were you cast aside as not being poor enogh?

  9. B.E.B
    July 19, 2014

    I have read the story and all the comments, up to this time I do not know what was the court’s decision. The Magistrate cautioned her telling her that she was the only thief that is getting all these chances as she would not be going to prison because she has a baby. The magistrate did not impose any fine on her neither put her on any suspended sentence. I’m left to wander what was the outcome.

  10. The Facts
    July 18, 2014

    If she is a habitual thief and is sent to prison, every time she steals, the social welfare department should step in and take the children and give them to a responsible person to take care of them.
    That woman cannot change on her own. She is in need of rehabilitation. She also needs the blessing, grace and forgiveness of God. These are the only hope for her.

  11. Precious
    July 18, 2014

    Girl u should have gone to the red clinic to see de pm he would just write u a BIG check and his vote sure and your problem solve next time use your head

  12. watcher
    July 18, 2014

    I work so hard for my family and myself,why can’t these lazy people do the same.When i’m in need i ask for help or do without.Times hard is toys she want to feed the baby.

  13. July 18, 2014

    Lover of Christ you are sooo sorry for her why not take care of the children .This is not her first time she must be punished .

  14. July 18, 2014

    I don’t think many people here focus on the real issue. It is not about the “toys” it is about the HABIT. She is a habitual thief and that is the problem. If it wasn’t toys, it would have been something else. Just as a drug addict MUST satisfy his/her drug intake, so must a thief satisfy his/her appetite to steal. She has a disease and needs help. Sending her to jail will not shun the habit – she needs professional help / Counseling and above all prayer.

    Many focus on the symptoms but fail to get to the source of the problem.

  15. concern
    July 18, 2014

    She was given many chances. She blew it. Why use the kids as an excuse. I believe if it was food the court maybe would have mercy. Toys! the kids don’t need that, they need books for you the mom to read to them and food to make them healthy and strong. I believe she use the kids as an excuse so the court would have mercy. I am praying that God will help her to use common sense see and don’t touch. God will take care of the kids.

  16. ATKINSON
    July 18, 2014

    O.K. this jack, say’s she does no want,her children, to suffer like she did, because she did not have a mother or father. Then she has 2 children, and is single. Where is the kids father? Then again who want a convicted thief, serve your time

  17. ......
    July 18, 2014

    I am going to rewind my life and become a single mother because it seems to be the biggest excuse for everything these days.

    • July 21, 2014

      Better go back a little further. 8-O The children are not the sin. Premarital sex is the sin. :oops: It causes problems including single motherhood which in turn creates many other difficulties and hardships. :cry: Things will get worse until the people who could put the brakes on take responsibility and start doing so. :roll:

      There are three places where action needs to be taken. 8)

      (1) THE HOMES: Mums and dads must begin early to teach their children that sex is restricted to marriage. Outside marriage it is a sin the Bible calls fornication and it can cause many problems.

      (2) THE SCHOOLS: Students do not need to be taught how to sin without getting in trouble. They need to be taught that God says some things are sinful! Biblical morality can be taught in health classes, physical education classes, and during religious instruction classes. Teachers, school nurses, and guidance counselors, all need to get involved.

      (3) THE CHURCHES. Pastors have a responsibility to preach what the Bible says about human sexual behavior especially if wrong sexual behavior is causing major problems in their society. Churches that have a youth pastor have a great opportunity through this specialized ministry to reach the young people with these practical truths from he Word of God.

      The ironic thing is the problem continues to increase and the bigger it becomes the less people want to hear about either the cause or the solution. The people who have the solution continue to be called religious fanatics and worse.

      People say the New Testament moral code (Romans 1:21-32, Galatians 5:19-21) is not the answer, and Bible believing Christians are old fashioned, and behind the times, but they do not offer us anything better, and a modern society controlled largely by unbelievers continues to rot at an incredible rate :!:

      Sincerely, Rev. Donald Hill. International Evangelist.

  18. July 18, 2014

    I can understand if it was food, to feed her children, but toys? How many of us had toys? We achieved and made ourselves, well rounded individuals..
    Our parents worked hard to give us the necessary and most important things in life and most important, they were good examples. …

  19. July 18, 2014

    S?ad but i find it could be a smaller pein, there’ no work in the country every one is in need of help. She has to pay yes because this is not right but not prision it to much what a bout her kids. :(

  20. missmostDominican
    July 18, 2014

    :lol: :lol: :lol: did she just quote buju….. :lol: :lol: :lol:

  21. Anonymous
    July 18, 2014

    :-|

  22. Anonymous
    July 18, 2014

    escuse me but prision for toys hum :cry:

    • Anonymous
      July 18, 2014

      Really???? That is all you got from this story? You really think they sent her to prison for JUST the toys? what about the 12 previous convictions for Theft???

  23. DA4real
    July 18, 2014

    And is toys you stealing for the children. If you stole food or school books for your children I would plead your cause but toys, awa. Stop living above your means. Toys are not a necessary.

  24. Peace
    July 18, 2014

    Sad situation :(

  25. Anonymous
    July 18, 2014

    You May have done that wrong which warrants a punishment but God forgives when we are truly repentant. There is hope. My heart goes out to you, nobody knows your struggles like God does, so they may judge you but with God all things are possible.

  26. Anonymous
    July 18, 2014

    circumstances made me what i am— hee hee hee lol :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: woosh woosh. that one got me cracking. man if buju heard that i bet he would be laughing too.

    • Ce Sa
      July 20, 2014

      You know if the Govt. would lower the cost of basic food items and baby products, it would make a huge difference for people.

  27. July 18, 2014

    I did not comment on the one who stole the mangoes but my comment will serve for both. The magistrate did Damn right. The country is plagued with thieves who use blatant excuses for stealing and it is about time that a clear message is sent to all that these things will not be tolerated.
    Everyone speaks about tougher sentences for crime and at the same time cry about the punishment. I do not care if its my blood relatives , if u do the crime then pay the fine and/or do the time.
    Its only then people will stop having sticky fingers and they will respect people’s belongings or property.

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