An American visitor who caused a ruckus in his Hamilton Parish hotel received a birthday present of more than $1,700 in fines on Tuesday in Magistrates? Court.

Eugene Shepherd, 32 of New York pleaded guilty to causing unlawful damage to government property in excess of $60 and using offensive and threatening behaviour in a public place.

Crown Counsel Carrington Mahoney told the court that around midnight Shepherd became enraged when Grotto Bay Hotel night staff failed to produce a bellman quickly enough for his satisfaction.

?Mr. Shepherd told staff ?if I were back in my country I would take you outside and bust you up?,? said Mr. Mahoney. ?The defendant tried to jump over the desk counter. The two night auditors tried to calm him down.

?He became more verbally abusive and attempted to spit on staff. Police responded to a call of an unruly person on the premises. When police took his left arm he appeared to be intoxicated and excited.?

Once in the police car Shepherd?s behaviour continued to deteriorate. He shouted: ?You can?t arrest me, I?m an American. You are all ***.?

Using his feet, Shepherd managed to damage a police car window and kick an officer. Eventually he was subdued with captor spray.

?Being an American does not make you immune from being arrested,? said Senior Magistrate Tokunbo.

Shepherd told the court he came to Bermuda with his girlfriend to celebrate his 32nd birthday. ?I had been drinking a little,? Shepherd said. ?I should have calmed down.?

Senior Magistrate Tokunbo asked Shepherd how his stay was in jail. ?Someone lent me this shirt,? said Shepherd. ?I did not appreciate my stay. I was supposed to go home on Sunday. Now my girlfriend made me a ticket for 5.45 p.m. today. I only have $850 on me.?

Senior Magistrate Tokunbo said he would have to find the money somewhere and fined him $250 for the first charge and $1,500 for offensive behaviour, bringing Shepherd?s fines to a grand total of $1,750 or three months in prison in default.

A homeless man charged with carrying a bladed object in a public place complained of being pecked by the police in Magistrates? Court.

Kenneth Roberts, 30, of no fixed abode pleaded not guilty to having a bladed hatchet on Somerset Road in Sandys on September 5.

?I am a worker,? Roberts said. ?Why am I getting pecked at by the police? I can?t do without certain little tools that relate to my work yet I get pecked at by police for nothing. I am minding my own business and trying to make a living for myself.?

Senior Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo bailed Roberts at $2,000 and set his trial date to November 22.

A Smith?s Parish man said he was driving while disqualified because he couldn?t find a taxi to take him all the way to St. David?s.

Shawn Swan, 21, pleaded guilty to driving while disqualified on Tuesday in Magistrates? Court.

?Actually sir, I just went off the road,? Swan told Senior Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo, who replied: ?So you just went off the road and you were still on the road??

Swan said he had an explanation. ?I make work in St. David?s at 6 a.m.? he said. ?At that time the buses aren?t running. I can?t depend on a taxi to pick me up every morning.?

Mr. Tokunbo said Swan had gotten himself into this predicament and refused to budge when Swan pleaded ?Not even a 50 cc??.

The Magistrate refused, instead fining him $1,000 and further disqualifying Swan for six months on top of his previous disqualification.

A male patient who punched a female member of staff at the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute in the face has been jailed for four months.

Jevon Lyndon Easton of Hermitage Lane, Devonshire, was charged with assaulting Geraldine Smith after the incident on August 30.

Crown counsel Nicole R. Smith told Magistrates? Court that Ms Smith was 28-year-old Easton?s case manager at MAWI. She and the victim were at a staff meeting to discuss plans for discharging him when he became verbally abusive.

Easton then punched Ms Smith in the face, causing her head to hit the wall behind her. He later admitted the assault in a Police interview.

Addressing the court on Friday, Easton apologised for his actions. ?I was really upset. I don?t think they were helping me at all,? he said.

However, Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo told him: ?That?s not a good enough reason to assault a woman.?