Teen robber sent to Utah treatment centre

A teenager said to be on a downward spiral of misbehaviour is due to be sent to a US treatment facility today after a Magistrate chose that option instead of jailing him.

Akili Smith, 16, pleaded guilty yesterday to using force to rob a man of his wallet, cell phone and pocket knife on Monday, June 15.

He also admitted using the victim's credit card to buy Hennessy cognac, Red Bull energy drink and two packs of Marlboro Lights cigarettes.

A representative of Child and Family Services told Magistrate Juan Wolffe that Smith is due to be transferred to a treatment facility in Utah today, and asked him to release the defendant so he could go.

"He's spiralling out of control," she explained. "He's going into a wilderness programme for three months, then into an academic programme to get his GED, then hopefully some sort of vocational programme."

After hearing Smith confirm that he wishes to turn his life around, Mr. Wolffe sentenced him to two years' probation and ordered that he be released into the care of Child and Family Services.

Suspended sentence for stealing candy

A man admitted stealing Smarties, Fruit Pastilles and Crunch Stix chocolate wafers from Woodbourne Chemist when he appeared in court yesterday.

Magistrate Juan Wolffe responded by telling defendant Reuben Mayho: "You must have a wicked sweet tooth."

Prosecutor Auralee Cassidy told the court that Police were called to the chemist last November, to find Mayho standing next to the store manager. The manager handed over items said to have been recovered from Mayho.

The defendant is said to have responded at the time: "I never saw them before, he can't prove I had anything."

Yesterday, however, 49-year-old Mayho pleaded guilty and explained he was homeless at the time. Magistrate Juan Wolffe ticked him off over his criminal record.

"You've had all sorts of petty stuff. I'm not saying you should do big stuff, but it's stealing perishable foods, stealing candy, stealing newspapers," he chided. "It's petty stuff, it just don't make sense."

Mayho agreed that his record is "embarrassing" but said he is now working as a self-employed painter and has cleaned up his act.

Mr. Wolffe handed him a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, which means he will not go to jail if he stays out of trouble during that period.

Woman admits trying to cash stolen cheque

A woman was caught trying to cash a stolen cheque drawn on a restaurant's bank account.

Trimiea Rowland, 20, pleaded guilty in Magistrates' Court to dishonestly receiving the cheque and attempting to use it to deprive the Out of Bounds restaurant of $2,500.

Prosecutor Brett Webber told the court a customer service worker at Bermuda Financial Network became suspicious when Rowland tried to cash the Bank of Butterfield cheque on October 4, 2007.

Rowland was unable to give the telephone number for the restaurant, which is located at the Ocean View Golf Club.

The customer service worker looked it up, called the restaurant, and established that the cheque may have been stolen.

The defendant asked what was taking so long, then said she needed to use the bathroom and exited the building.

Restaurant owner Charles Pearman subsequently confirmed that the cheque was stolen, but the signature was his.

In a Police interview, Rowland admitted presenting the cheque for payment and said a neighbour she only identified as Kiwana had asked her to do so in exchange for $500.

Mr. Webber did not explain why it has taken 19 months for the case to come to court.

Magistrate Juan Wolffe ordered a Social Inquiry Report and told Rowland to come back to court on August 25 when she will be sentenced.

Impaired woman fell off cycle – in front of cop

A woman spotted riding her bike erratically before falling off it in front of an off-duty Police officer was found to be three times over the drink-drive limit.

Abigail Kempe, 22, pleaded guilty at Magistrates' Court to riding her auxiliary cycle with 184 mg of alcohol in 100ml of her blood when the legal limit is 80 mg.

Prosecutor Auralee Cassidy told the court that the off-duty officer spotted Kempe riding west on Middle Road, Warwick, at 2.27 a.m on Tuesday. They observed that she was veering across the centre line, and at one point almost hit the oncoming traffic.

She hit the kerb while negotiating a bend, fell off the bike, and was taken to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital with slight injuries.

In a later interview with Police, she admitted she'd been drinking, and a breath-test revealed she was over the limit.

Kempe, of Between The Walls, Pembroke, told the court: "I'm extremely apologetic for what I did. I'm glad that no one else got hurt. I realise it was an idiotic thing to do."

Magistrate Juan Wolffe fined her $1,000, banned her from driving for a year and meted out ten demerit points.

West Virginia lawyer fined for having cannabis

An American attorney got caught at the airport bringing four cannabis cigarettes into Bermuda hidden in his sock.

Paul Nathan Bowles, 59, from Charleston, West Virginia, admitted the offence in Magistrates' Court yesterday.

Prosecutor Brett Webber explained that a sniffer dog alerted officers to Mr. Bowles' feet after he'd arrived on a flight from Philadelphia on Sunday, June 21.

Bowles, who was in the Customs line at the time, was sent to the counter where he admitted having controlled drugs in his left sock.

When he was searched, four hand-rolled cigarettes containing a total of 1.16 grams of cannabis were found.

According to Mr. Webber, the defendant was arrested and questioned. Asked if he was aware that it was an offence to bring a controlled drug into Bermuda he replied: "I would assume."

Invited to address the court yesterday, Bowles told Magistrate Juan Wolffe: "I am sorry for my actions.

"I thought that every defendant is sorry that he or she was caught and of course I have that sorrow, and I have thought beyond that and I have come to recognise that my actions were extremely selfish.

"I was thinking only of myself not my family or the Bermudian people."

Bowles went on to explain that it is his third visit to Bermuda, although the first in about 20 years, and he is set to leave tomorrow.

He said of the Bermudian people: "I regret having breached their sovereignty and trust."

He did not give any reason for bringing in the drugs. The Magistrate fined him $1000 to be paid immediately.