A St. George's man broke down in tears in Supreme Court yesterday as he pleaded with Assistant Justice Archibald Warner not to send him to jail for housebreaking.

Rudell Valentino Pitcher, 25, of Wellington Slip Road, remained silent, however, as Mr. Warner sentenced him to three years in jail followed by two years of probation.

Crown counsel Cindy Clarke told the court Pitcher pleaded guilty to charges of housebreaking and stealing last year. He confessed to breaking into the Paget home of Helen Cart and stealing a cheque for the amount of $674.47 from her on June 14 last year.

Pitcher also confessed to stealing a debit Mastercard from Vanessa Hardy on June 12 last year. He used Ms Hardy's card to pay for more than $1,000 worth of retail goods from W.J. Boyle's, the Phoenix store, and Sports Locker.

Lawyer Larry Mussenden, representing Pitcher, told the court his client had suffered from a lack of love and support in his life, which was the cause of his delinquent behaviour.

He said Pitcher's mother died when Pitcher was 12. The boy was sent to live with his grandmother, who died the following year, leaving Pitcher in the hands of a father who, according to Mr. Mussenden, was not very loving.

"The role of fathers in this society is lacking in their children's development and it's crying out," he said.

"True, but we can't give them fathers," replied Mr. Warner.

"We all want to be loved," said Mr. Mussenden, citing a US psychiatric study done on animals which showed animals responded better when showered with love and toys.

"That's the Discovery channel, isn't it?" asked Mr. Warner.

"I was trying to be more scientific," said Mr. Mussenden. "You transfer that over to humans and it's the same thing... When he (Pitcher) needed to have these things he didn't have them."

"He himself has done nothing with this drug problem, or dare I say lifestyle," said Mr. Warner, observing that Pitcher was deemed from the beginning not to be a suitable candidate for Drug Court.

Ms Clarke said a social inquiry report indicated Pitcher was not suitable for a community-based sentence.

"At present our community is being plagued by such housebreakers," she said. "A message needs to be sent that this behaviour will not be tolerated."

She submitted to Mr. Warner a sentence of four to six years in prison for the first count of housebreaking and stealing. For the second charge of stealing she recommended 18 months to two years imprisonment. The maximum sentence for each charge is seven and three years respectively.

Mr. Mussenden asked the court to remand Pitcher at Westgate until a place was available to him in Camp Spirit, followed by a probation period. He also asked for bereavement counselling for Pitcher, who he said was still suffering from the loss of his mother and grandmother.

Pitcher himself then made an emotional bid for his freedom. "I'm really sick and tired of the life I was living," he said.

Breaking down as he told the court about the death of his mother and grandmother, Pitcher continued: "I gave up on the Lord... as the only way to ease my pain I turned to drugs. I just didn't care because I didn't have anyone."

In tears Pitcher begged Mr. Warner for leniency. "I'm going 26, I don't want to be going back to jail when I'm 30," he said. "I'm ashamed of my life and the way I've been living... I've done what I've done and I've set goals for myself.

"In Westgate I've made up my mind. I want a life."

Mr. Warner sentenced Pitcher after saying a balance had to be observed between protecting society and the defendant. He also ordered that Pitcher undergo all the necessary drug treatment and counselling necessary while in prison.