Log In

Reset Password
BERMUDA | RSS PODCAST

Man, 23, jailed for stalking a woman

A 23-year-old man who admitted stalking a woman and prowling outside her home was yesterday sentenced to two years' imprisonment.Jay Cody Steede, of Farmstead Lane, Somerset, pleaded guilty in July to charges of stalking, prowling and intruding on a woman's privacy after she refused to give him her phone number.Crown counsel Kirsty Ann-Kiellor said Zolita Dill was sitting in her car at Fairhaven Lane waiting for a friend when she was approached by Steede on an unknown date in May this year.He reportedly asked for her phone number, and she declined to give it to him.Later that evening, when Ms Dill dropped her friend off, she was approached again by Steede, who shoved his arm through the car window and touched her leg. She closed the window and drove away.Around two weeks later, Ms Dill was at her home when she heard a knock on her bedroom window. Thinking it was her son, she opened the door of the house and to her surprise, saw Steede standing outside.He tried to enter the house, causing Ms Dill to push him away and shut the door. She then locked all the doors and windows to the house, but Steede remained outside for 45 minutes trying to get in.He eventually left when the complainant's brother arrived.On July 17, Ms Dill again saw Steede outside her home, peering through her kitchen window. She called police, who discovered Steede still crouching at the window, looking into Ms Dill's home.He was taken to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, where he was deemed “of sound mind” before he was charged.Yesterday Steede remained silent as his sentence was being debated.The court heard he had been having psychological problems after being involved in a high-speed collision that resulted in the death of 15-year-old Krystle Babon in 2005.According to the psychological report before the court, Steede said that Ms Dill reminded him of Ms Babon, although he did not say why.Steede's mother and sister addressed the court, saying that the defendant has been suffering from depression and needs psychological treatment.They said that Steede would not receive proper treatment in Westgate, and that he would be better treated in the community.However, Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner said psychological reports suggested that Steede's issues are connected to alcohol and possibly drug abuse, and that Steede had refused opportunities for treatment.“It's clear that these problems, as submitted by the report, stem from his use of drugs as well as from some psychological issues,” he said.“This is a matter of the public needing to be protected from this unfortunate man.”Noting Steede's criminal record, which includes convictions for breaking and entering and prowling, Mr Warner sentenced him to two years' imprisonment to be followed by two years' probation.Mr Warner also ordered that Steede take part in all available psychological and psychiatric treatment available both while in prison and on probation.