Woman tried to smuggle $750,000 worth of heroin into Bermuda

A British resident received a discounted prison sentence this week after she admitted attempting to smuggle more than $750,000 worth of heroin into Bermuda.

Valerie Patricia Grant, of Manchester, England, was found guilty upon her own confession on Tuesday of trying to import the drugs last year and was jailed for seven years - about half the sentence she could have received. Airport customs officers detained Grant on August 25, 2002, for a body search after she acted nervously and was very talkative.

The 26-year-old concealed 249.2 grams of diamorphine heroin with an approximate purity of 46 percent in a black cylindrical object placed in the entrance of her vagina.

The amount Grant carried would have produced 38,210 decks (wraps) with a street value of $764,200.

Grant's lawyer Mark Pettingill argued that his client was "remorseful for the havoc which the incident could have wreaked on the Island".

Mr. Pettingill also pointed out that Grant cooperated with Police to "atone" for her misconduct. He asked Assistant Justice Archibald Warner to act leniently with his client in order to facilitate ongoing cooperation by extending "a real carrot of encouragement" to allow individuals such as Grant "to atone for their wrongdoing and assist in getting the real culprits".

Grant apologised and asked Justice Archibald Warner to consider her three-year-old daughter and a possible transfer of sentence.

"I know what it's like to be without a mother throughout childhood. I also know the consequences," she said

Based on rulings M. Justice Warner has imposed recently, Grant could have received a prison sentence of 12 to 14 years.

However, the judge considered Grant's guilty plea and cooperation and sentenced her to seven years in prison with a recommendation for transfer.

'If I can't have air conditioning, nor can she'

A Paget man charged with cutting the cables to his estranged wife's air conditioning unit was discharged this week in Magistrates' Court on condition he move out of the couple's house and participate in an 'abuse free' programme.

"If I can't have air conditioning, she can't have it. We share the bill," said John Manuel Correia, who said he and his wife were sleeping in separate bedrooms and accused her of removing the air conditioning controls from his room.

Correia, of South Road admitted he had cut the electricity of the AC unit which his wife was using early yesterday morning. The act was in violation of a court order that Mrs. Correia had filed on June 18 in order to prevent her husband damaging property they owned jointly. He told Acting Senior Magistrate Will Francis that his wife had previously taken the controls to his own air conditioner, preventing him from turning it on.

"I have air conditioning in our bedroom, but were not sleeping together any more. She took the control to my air conditioner into my daughter's room where she's sleeping now."

Correia said that his wife refused to give him the controls but she continued to use the air conditioning in their daughter's room.

He cut the wires to the unit at 2 a.m. yesterday, causing his wife to call the Police to have Correia arrested.

"I felt upset and I apologise for doing such a silly thing," said Correia. Correia had already been discharged for violating the court order against him, but at the time he maintained he did not know about the order. He said that his wife was in the process of filing for divorce. Mr. Francis was advised by a probation officer to have Correia participate in an 'abuse free' programme at the Physical Abuse Centre in order to help Correia find better ways to communicate with his estranged wife.

Correia also volunteered to vacate the house he currently shares with his wife. Mr. Francis gave Correia a six month discharge.

Stolen bike 'borrowed' in exchange for cocaine

A 28-year-old repeat bike thief was sentenced to nine months in prison after he admitted he had 'borrowed' a stolen cycle in exchange for cocaine.

Appearing on charges of receiving a stolen cycle, Satonjee Joel of Warwick, initially pleaded not guilty, claiming he hadn't known the bike was stolen, but had given his friend some cocaine earlier in the day in order to use it. But Joel ultimately changed his plea when Crown Counsel said that she strongly objected to the court releasing Joel on bail.

Though he still maintained that he didn't know the bike was stolen, he entered a guilty plea for receiving the bike which had been stolen from the residence of the owner. It was then revealed that Joel had a record of cycle theft that stretched back to 1996, and included stealing four cycles in 1996 and eight cycles last year.

Acting Senior Magistrate Will Francis handed down the nine month sentence saying that it would have been 12 months had Mr. Francis not considered Joel's guilty plea and "antecedence" in the case. Mr. Francis said he had to take into consideration the the deterrent factor of this sentence for a crime he has seen too often. Cycle theft has "become far too prevalent", he said.

Despite the break, Joel was visibly angry and though he controlled himself inside court room, he began to yell offensively upon exiting it.

Judge: You can't pay $3,000 bill in coins

A man who tried to pay a company bill in coins has been ordered to pay in larger denominations.

Keith Trott, owner of Shannon's clothing store, took car repair company Rayclan to court last year claiming the garage had damaged his car. He claimed his car was badly painted by the company, which also failed to fix the brakes. Mr. Trott took the case to court claiming the damage that had been done to his car amounted to was $3,000.

But magistrate Edward King dismissed the case last June and ordered Mr. Trott to pay $3,000 to Rayclan for the company's time and legal expenses. Mr. Trott paid the award - with 18,000 quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies, claiming it was legal tender.

The company refused to accept the coins and launched an appeal. In court on Friday Justice Lindsay Worrell ruled in Rayclan's favour, saying that Rayclan could refuse to accept coin payment. Mr. Justice Worrell wrote that Mr. Trott must pay the $3,000 to the company in tender that they would accept.

Teen admits tennis stadium break-in

An 18-year-old convicted of breaking and entering was sent to Westgate this week pending the completion of a social inquiry report.

Devon Smith pleaded guilty to breaking into the office of the Government Tennis Stadium in Pembroke on Sunday night.

Smith admitted that at around 7 p.m. he had climbed through a bathroom window at the office and was caught attempting to force the lock to the office's store room. According to the complainant, who is an employee at the Tennis Stadium, Smith approached him as he was locking up the office, and asked the complainant to use the office bathroom. While in the bathroom Smith opened the bathroom window, planning to allow himself back in later. Smith emerged from the bathroom and exited the office with the complainant who then locked the office.

But not long after the office was locked up, a player on the courts noticed Smith climbing into the bathroom window.

Alerted of the break-in, the complainant, accompanied by Police, returned to the office and found Smith in the attempting to force his way into a store room, causing $250 worth of damage to the door.

When discovered he quickly admitted that he had been looking for money. Ordering a social inquiry report in the matter, acting Senior Magistrate Will Francis said that Smith's young age and ready admittance of guilt was consideration in his sentencing. Smith's report is scheduled to be completed by mid-August.