Underaged rider was impaired – escapes prison time

A 17-year-old was nearly sent to jail for drinking and driving because the Magistrate did not believe she was contrite enough.

Coeshea Cann, of Middle Road, Warwick appeared in Magistrates Court yesterday for drinking and driving on February 15.

Crown Counsel Larissa Burgess told the court the teenager got into an accident near Somerset Bridge at 3.15 a.m. after spending the evening drinking 'black and cokes' at Somerset Cricket Club after colliding with a car.

She was taken to the hospital to treat her injuries.

She told the court she had owned her bike for one year when the accident happened and added: "I am sorry and learning from my mistakes everyday."

But Magistrate Juan Wolffe told the girl: "I don't believe that you are sorry, I think someone told you to say that. Do you realise I can lock you up for this? This is a serious charge."

Mr. Wolffe added she had made several mistakes so far, including drinking underage, driving under the influence, putting the lives of the people in the other car at risk, putting her own life at risk and not treating the situation seriously.

He added that he was concerned she had gone unpunished at home after Cann told him her only punishment was to 'stay inside'.

"Well I could punish you and you would stay inside, inside a jail," he told her.

But Cann's grandmother and father told the judge her bike had been taken away and her actions were not normal, noting that she was on the honour roll and is usually home for curfew.

In the end Mr. Wolffe fined her $500, suspended her from the road for six months and gave her 10 demerit points.

But he added: " But if you appear before this court again bring a toothbrush, toothpaste, chocolate and magazine because you're going to jail."

Van, cars damaged in collisions

Police were kept busy dealing with two crashes on Wednesday evening, which left vehicles wrecked but no-one injured.

The first call came in around 5.40 p.m. with a report of a collision on North Shore Road in Hamilton Parish near the junction with Sunnyview Drive involving two cars.

A Police spokesman said: "It appears that one car was travelling east on North Shore Road and the other car was travelling in the opposite direction when the vehicles collided as the eastbound vehicle attempted to turn into Bethel AME Church.

"The driver of the eastbound car, a 51-year-old Hamilton Parish man and the driver of the westbound car, a 21 year old Hamilton Parish man were not injured; however, the driver of the westbound car was subsequently arrested on suspicion of impaired driving and detained after failing the alco-analyser test."

Both cars suffered extensive damage.

The next call came in around 8.25 p.m., alerting Police to a collision on Harbour Road in Paget near the junction with Valley Road involving a van and a car.

According to the spokesman: "It appears that the car was travelling west on Harbour Road and the van was travelling in the opposite direction when the vehicles collided.

"The driver of the car, a 50-year-old Warwick man and the driver of the van, a 28-year-old Smith's parish man were not injured."

Again, both vehicles were left with extensive damage.

Two Warwick homes burglarised

Burglars have struck two homes in Warwick.

The first report came into Police around 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

The victims stated that sometime between 7.50 a.m. and 5.45 p.m. that day, an unknown culprit gained entry into their Warwick Lane home while it was unoccupied.

He or she stole a HP laptop computer, a quantity of cash and personal items.

The second report came in around 2.30 pm on Wednesday, stating that two flat screen TVs and a quantity of jewellery had been taken during a break-in in Paddock Lane. Inquiries into both incidents are underway.

Ex-magistrate in male prostitute investigation

A former Bermuda magistrate now serving as a judge in Wales, is being investigated over an alleged affair with a male prostitute.

Gerald Price QC, who is married with two children, reportedly had a nine-month relationship with 25-year-old Christopher Williams.

He has denied the accusation.

Mr. Williams told UK tabloid News of the World the judge put him up in housing and paid him a monthly allowance of £420.

He claimed the pair met on a gay escort website last September, with the alleged relationship coming to an end when the judge proposed to him.

The judge, who served as a magistrate here in the 1970s, had reached the rank of senior circuit judge in Swansea, Cardiff and Carmarthen.

He is being investigated by the UK Ministry of Justice over a possible breach of the Guide To Judicial Conduct.

Cyclist in hospital after losing control

A 45-year-old Warwick man was taken to hopital Wednesday after losing control of his Motorcycle.

The man was travelling east on South Road in Smith's Parish before 6.45 a.m. when he lost control of the motorcycle and fell to the ground, sustaining facial injuries. He was taken to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital for treatment. The motorcycle received only minor damage.

Two homes burgled on Tuesday

Two burglaries were reported Tuesday, one in Sandys and one in Hamilton Parish.

At 1.30 p.m. Police attended a reported burglary at a Radnor Court Road residence, where the complainant said that sometime after 8 a.m. that day an unknown culprit entered the home, stealing an X-Box video game console.

A Railway Trail residence was also reportedly burgled the same day, with a culprit entering the home between 6.40 a.m. and 2 p.m., stealing a quantity of cash and personal items.