A 23-year-old Hamilton Parish man was yesterday sent to prison for one year for stealing a gold chain worth more than $3,000 from a 17-year-old.

Wayne Wales, of Fisherman?s Hill, Hamilton Parish, pleaded guilty to the theft, apologised and offered to repay the victim, Aaron Cannonier.

The court heard Wales had approached Mr. Cannonier at City Hall one afternoon in July and asked to see the chain.

Mr. Cannonier took off the chain and Wales walked off with it. The crime was reported to the Police and, in custody on another matter, Wales admitted that he had taken the chain, but said he had given it away.

?I?m sorry and I would like to pay it back,? said Wales. ?I am working full-time.?

Under questioning from Magistrate Ed King, Wales said that he could not retrieve the chain because he had given it to someone he did not know.

?You?re a robber. You intimidated the child because you wanted it,? Mr. King said. ?Your intentions were fraudulent. You intended to steal from the beginning.?

He warned Wales to ?change that attitude ? there was somebody that got shot in back of Town a few years ago and that was his philosophy: ?You have it, I want it. Give me that watch. I am going to send you to prison today.?

Mr. King said his guilty plea and offer of restitution had been taken into account and he was exercising leniency by not referring the matter to the Supreme Court for sentencing where he would attract a stiffer sentence.

?When you come out of prison, Cannonier can sue you for the money.?