Burglar found in gutter receives concurrent prison sentences

An Old Montrose man who was found lying in a gutter near an eye clinic where he had committed burglary and damage to property, has received concurrent prison sentences.

Alanzo Bailey, 35 appeared at the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court before Magistrate John Ballah where he pleaded guilty that on September 1, 2023 at Stoney Ground that he did enter the Renewed Vision Eye Clinic as a trespasser with intent to commit an offence, “theft.”

He also pleaded guilty that on September 1, 2023 at Stoney Ground without lawful excuse damaged one pair of eye glasses of value EC$150, two spectacle display stands valued EC$370, one piece of 3×3% glass valued EC$79.25 and one sticker valued EC$600, amounting to a total value of EC$1,199.25 with intent to do so, the property of Jarleis Llamas Merino of Ratho Mill.

Merino is a doctor who owns and operates an eye clinic in the Russell building at Stoney Ground. On Friday, September 1, 2023 about 5:00 pm, Merino secured his clinic by locking all the windows, doors and setting his motion sensor alarms before leaving for home.

Later that day at about 11:23 pm, Merino received a telephone call from Guardsman security personnel stating that the motion sensor had been activated and they detected movements in the clinic.

Merino telephoned his brother and asked him to check at the clinic on his behalf. Merino then called the police station and reported the matter.

On arrival at the scene, Cpl 296 Davis met and spoke to Merino who pointed out the damage to the clinic. After measurements and photographs were taken of the scene, Davis made checks about the area and saw what appeared to be a blood trail leading to a gutter by the main road next to the Nurses Hostel.

Davis also received a telephone call from Police Control stating that a man was lying in a gutter in close proximity to the Nurses Hostel. Davis looked in the gutter and met an unknown man with what appeared to be a wound on his right foot.

The ambulance later arrived and took the man to the hospital where he was ascertained to be Alonzo Bailey of Old Montrose. Four days later, Davis met Bailey at Massy Stores in Stoney Ground, Kingstown while dealing with a report of theft made against him.

After Davis identified himself, Bailey was arrested on suspicion for theft and taken to the Criminal Investigation Department(CID). Bailey was shown video footage in which he identified himself. He however said he did not remember anything. He was charged.

After the facts were read, Bailey informed the court that he has two young children to maintain.

Based on the sentencing guidelines Magistrate Ballah began with a custodial sentence of one year and four months. When the aggravating factors of the offence were considered, six months was added to the sentence. There were no mitigating factors of the offence.

Aggravating of the offender was that he has had 17 previous convictions, seven of which are acts of dishonesty and two are of damage to property, so six months were added to his sentence.

The court then considered his guilty

plea and offered him a one-third discount from his sentence resulting in a final custodial sentence one year and six months for burglary.

As for damage to property, Ballah began with a five-month custodial sentence. He added six months to the sentence in light of the significant damage that was caused, amounting to a total sentence of 11 months.

He then considered Bailey’s guilty plea and offered him a one-third discount from his sentence, which resulted in a final custodial sentence of four months to run concurrently with the burglary sentence.