Frustration and hunger lands Belair man in Court

IN HIS FRUSTRATION and hunger, because he had allegedly not been paid, a Belair man chose to wound the man who owed him with a piece of steel.

During this incident, not only did 33-year-old defendant Raphique Woods injure one Wayne Sandy of Arnos Vale with this piece of steel, but he also managed to damage the left rear fender of a nearby vehicle.

However, the outcome of Woods’ heated response, which landed him in the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court, is that he now has to pay a total of $1,113.56 to those involved.

When he pleaded guilty to charges of wounding and damage to property, yesterday, July 20, the court was told that Woods had approached Sandy on June 23, at Middle Street, Kingstown.

Woods, armed with a piece of steel, asked Sandy for his money, but Sandy insisted that he did not have it. In turn the defendant insisted that he did, and he struck Sandy with the piece of steel on the top of his head and one of his feet. The two held on and began to fight. Ann Prescott, the owner of a nearby vehicle, in observing the fight, saw when Woods struck out with the steel, and hit her vehicle.

When the defendant was picked up by the police and gave a statement, he claimed that he worked with Sandy, but did not get any pay. He said that Sandy told him he was waiting on money from a source, but when Woods spoke to this source himself, they apparently told him they had paid Sandy “every cent of the money”. According to Woods, during the confrontation, when he struck out, Sandy boxed him, and they ended up wrestling.

Woods, who has no previous convictions told Senior Magistrate that he was owed $400.

However, the magistrate told him that if he wanted to collect money from Sandy there is an orderly way for this to be done.

Woods explained “I was frustrated and hungry” on that day. He said that he left home early that day and he didn’t have any money to buy anything to eat at noon. He had heard that Sandy was paid the money since February, and Woods had supposedly begun working for him in June.

Burnett told the defendant “even though that is so, performing an illegal act is not the solution.”

He noted that everyone has their frustrations. Furthermore, the medical report says that Sandy was hit with steel in the head, and the magistrate told Woods this is not a place that one wants to hit a person.

While it may be the case that Sandy owes him, Burnett told Woods, for this case he would have to pay him.

For the damage to the vehicle, the compensation is $363.56, to be paid by August 28, with a default of two months in prison.

The defendant, who says he is now involved in farming, produced $200 to the owner in court.

To Sandy, he must compensate him $750, or there will be a default sentence of six months in prison. After a request on Woods’ part, the magistrate allowed the time to pay this compensation to be extended to December 30.

Woods asked if the $400 he was owed was subtracted from this sum, but the magistrate informed him that it was not. Burnett further informed the defendant that if he was really owed money, that he could take Sandy to court for his money, and that the both of them would have to work this out.