Grocery thieves fined and ordered to pay compensation to Massy

Two men who stole groceries from Massy Stores on two consecutive days have been fined and ordered to pay compensation.

George Williams, 63 of Kingstown also known as Alex Davy, and Ivor James, 52 of Sion Hill appeared at the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court on Friday, September 15 before Magistrate John Ballah where they both pleaded guilty to their charges.

They were both charged that on May 23, 2022 in Kingstown they stole four Crest Tin Cheese valued EC$240, the property of Massy Stores.

They were also charged that on May 24, 2022 in Kingstown they stole one tin of one kilogram Tastee Cheese valued EC$68, three tins of one kilogram Crest Cheese valued EC$180 and 2.89 lbs of Salt Fish value EC$44.80 amounting to a total value of EC$292.80, the property of Massy Stores, Upper Bay Street, Kingstown.

On May 23, 2022 around 3:30 pm, an employee whose duty is to monitor the CCTV footage in the store spotted both defendants standing in the aisle where cheese and bread are on the shelf.

Her suspicion was aroused when she noticed the two defendants looking around the area, so she paid close attention to them.

The employee then saw Williams/Davy taking up four tins of cheese, and placing them in a black bag that was on James’s shoulder. The employee then saw the men walk past the cashier.

At that point, she tried to make contact with another security personnel, but in doing so both men were able to the store with the cheese in the bag.

A report was made to the police and investigations were carried out into the matter.

On the following day, the supervisor of security of Massy Stores was on duty, standing at the entrance of the store. While there, he saw both defendants entering the store. He kept them under observation because of the previous incidents.

He noticed that both men went to the isle where bread and tin cheese are on the shelf and noticed that James had a black bag over his shoulder. He saw Williams/Davy take some tin cheese off the shelf, along with a quantity of salt fish and place it in the black bag with the assistance of James.

James closed the bag and put it over his shoulder and both defendants walked past the cashier while making no attempt to pay for the items. The supervisor confronted the men and informed them of his observations and requested a search of the bag.

James consented to the search and the supervisor saw the items in the bag. He reported the matter to the police, and on arrival of the police, the men admitted to the offence.

The men were arrested under suspicion of theft and were cautioned. They did not give a statement.

After lawyer Jomo Thomas made representations for his client Williams/Davy, the magistrate referred to the sentencing guidelines, and found that based on the consequence and seriousness of the offence, a fine was appropriate for both defendants.

In relation to the theft of May 23, Williams/Davy and James were ordered to pay compensation of $120 in two weeks or spend one week in prison.

Williams/Davy was also placed on a bond for six months in the sum of $600 in default three months in prison, while James, who received his fate on Monday, September 18 due to the absence of his lawyer Grant Connell on Friday, was also placed on a bond for six months in the sum of $600 with a default of one month in prison.

And as for the matter on May 24, Williams/Daly was fined $350 to be paid in one month, in default he would spend one month in prison, while James was fined $200 to be paid in one month in default, one month imprisonment.