‘Hard headed’ youth convicted again for stealing Strong Rum

A hard headed young defendant went back for round two, securing his second conviction within a year for stealing liquor from supermarkets last Friday.

Steven Boucher was charged that he did on August 16, steal two one litre bottles of Sunset Strong Rum, valued $77.75 from the Massy supermarket at Arnos Vale.

The court usually sees that in these cases of theft, the perpetrators are caught either by the eye of technology, namely CCTV (Closed Circuit Televison), or by the keen and no less efficient eyes of store employees.

In this case, Boucher had been under the observation of a worker at Massy supermarket, one Samuel, when she observed him removing the bottles from the shelf, and placing them in his bag. She continued to trace his movements, and Boucher was nearly at an exit when he was stopped by the employee and an explanation demanded.

Boucher claimed that he had purchased the items from Randy’s Supermarket.

Boucher told Senior Magistrate Rickie Burnett that he was 20 years old, and would be 21 next month.

He told the Magistrate that he has a girlfriend, who is entering form four, and is pregnant.

Boucher attempted to side step responsibility for this, saying that it was his girlfriend who said that she wanted to have a child with him.

This was halted by Burnett, who told him to “stop your foolishness,” adding, “both of you agreed.” He told the defendant to stop making his girlfriend sound reckless.

Boucher told the Magistrate that his girlfriend was three months pregnant.

“Tell me if I am wrong, yes or no,” the Magistrate continued, “Weren’t you the gentleman who went into CK Greaves and stole liquor?”

It came out that he was said gentleman, and that he was sentenced to six months in prison the last time. Burnett commented that he had given the defendant six months for stealing liquor from Greaves, and this time he was caught stealing from Massy.

“Are you moving from supermarket to supermarket?” he asked Boucher.

The defendant said that he tried to steal the rum so that he could buy groceries.

The Magistrate asked him to explain how that works, saying “I want to be educated.”

Boucher said that after stealing the alcohol, he would sell it, and then use this money to buy groceries.

The time came for the defendant’s record to be read, and it was revealed that on December 21, three years ago, Boucher was convicted for breaking into the Vegetable Market and stealing soft drinks and seasoning.

The defendant’s record showed additional cases of theft and burglary; he had also been jailed and put on a curfew.

The Magistrate told the defendant that if he did not want to go back to prison, that he shouldn’t do things that would land him back there. “You are not trying, you are not trying at all,” he said.
On the subject of prison, and the fact that Boucher had already been sent there for the same offence, Boucher revealed that he had been released from prison around Carnival time.

Prosecutor Corlene Samuel picked up something strange in this, noting that he had said his girlfriend was three months pregnant, but the defendant had not been out of jail for three months.

In the end, the Magistrate decided, “For the next nine months when you go in make an effort to change.”