Court discusses whether baby oil thief should be sent to MHC

Following an impassioned speech by the registrar of psychiatry last week, the court now seems to be considering more carefully who should be sent to the Mental Health Centre for evaluation.

Dr Karen Providence made a speech which told a tale of the woes of two psychiatrists against a total of over 200 patients, after she was summoned to the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court on June 19. It was shortly after this speech, that the defendant Michael Lewis was called to the dock, to answer a charge that on June 18, in Kingstown, he stole two bottles of Johnson’s Baby Oil from Jax’s Enterprise.

He pleaded guilty. Lewis was apparently being tracked by a security guard when he walked into the department store last Monday morning. Closed Circuit television showed Lewis entering the store, walking around and picking up the two bottles of oil, valued at $19.50.

Dr Karen Providence, Registrar of Psychiatry at the Mental Health Centre

He was seen placing them in his right pants pocket before exiting through the entrance, without paying for the bottles. There was a search for Lewis, and he was eventually met in Middle Street with the bottles. Officially he had no record before the court.

Senior Magistrate Rickie Burnett asked the defendant if he knew when he was born, to which he responded by scratching his head. He was asked if he knew what month it was, and he responded, that it was Tuesday.

He looked around in a confused manner when he was asked other questions.

However, he could say that he was making a living by washing bottles and pushing carts, although the prosecutor did say she saw him working on a truck the other day.

The bottles of oil were shown to him, and he responded that he did know them. “Me tek them,” he assured. Burnett then voiced that he was considering whether Lewis should go to Dr Providence or not. Lewis picked up on the suggestion, and was strongly against it.

Burnett then said that he was around long enough to inform himself when someone ought to be admitted to the MHC. Attorney Grant Connell rose to add to the discussion, opining that Lewis may be slow, but that he did not believe that he was mental. He acknowledged that the defendant didn’t know what month it is, but said that there were quite a lot of people that are a “couple ants short of a picnic basket.”

If everyone like that were to be sent to the MHC, they wouldn’t fit, he said. His suggestion was that they be sent to the police, for the senior policemen to take care of.

Burnett then wondered about the use of the oil, indicating that he did not know much about the defendant, but did not believe that he was a father. Lewis indicated, along with gestures, that he was using it to take care of his skin. He also said something that made it seem like he indeed had a record.

“I have to see his record now to see what was done to him,” Burnett said. Roderick Jones, also sitting at the bar table, suggested community service.

The senior magistrate voiced that he did not want Lewis leaving the courtroom thinking that he did nothing wrong, “I don’t function like that at all.”

With the thought that he wanted the defendant to “get the point that what he did was wrong,” Burnett gave Lewis a prison sentence of three months, suspended for three months.

Jones’ help was enlisted to explain the sentence to Lewis.