on a St. George's man who stole a friend's bike "because he had no way to get home''.

Oliver James Fox, 21, pleaded guilty to stealing an $800 Yamaha auxiliary cycle from Heidi Mello, riding it without a licence, without third party insurance, and without wearing protective head gear.

Prosecutor Sgt. Donald Grant told the court Police saw Fox riding, without a helmet, on Kindley Field Road shortly after 2 a.m. on March 25.

When the officers approached him, Fox got off the bike and jumped over the fence into the US Naval Air Station, Sgt. Grant said.

The bike appeared to have been wired.

The officers later saw Fox on St. David's Road and arrested him.

At St. George's Police Station, Fox admitted taking the cycle from a friend's house in Pembroke.

A check at the Transport Control Department revealed that Fox' driver's licence had expired in June, last year, Sgt. Grant said.

Mello told Police the cycle was parked outside of her residence at Number Two Robin Hood Drive. She also noted that the returned cycle was damaged.

Duty counsel Ms Kiernan Bell said Fox, who had been in Hamilton that night, had no way of getting home.

"He knew the owner of the bike,'' she said. "He genuinely thought that the person who owned it would not mind him taking it. He said he intended to return it the next day.'' Ms Bell said Fox also denied causing damage to the cycle, but he was willing to pay for it.

She also asked that the fact that he had no previous convictions be taken into consideration.

Mr. White fined Fox $350 for having no driver's licence, $100 for driving without third party insurance, and $100 for not having on headgear.

However, he said the stealing was "a very serious offence''.

"You now have a criminal record,'' he told Fox. "Too many people are `borrowing' bikes without permission and you damaged it.'' Ordering a social inquiry report, Mr. White said: "I'm giving you a chance on this so you have to attend Probation Services so that they can assess whether or not you will benefit from community service.'' He ordered Fox to return to court on June 16 for sentencing.