A magistrate has urged a young man to “start going back to church” after he appeared before the court for stealing cheese from a supermarket.

Raffique Prince, 29 of Rose Place pleaded guilty when he appeared at the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, November 15 before Magistrate John Ballah.

He was charged that on December 24, 2022 at Kingstown he stole three blocks of Anchor Cheese valued EC$76.14, the property of Massy Stores Stoney Grounds.

A loss prevention officer whose work entails viewing CCTV footage at the supermarket saw Prince taking some items and placing them in a plastic bag which he had in his hand, and then left the market without paying.

The officer saw a police transport making patrols in the area and reported the matter to them. PC 1022 Toby entertained the report.

Prince was seen crossing the street from Massy Stores Parking Lot. PC Toby and PC 987 Peters shouted out to Prince who then ran to the Kingstown Cemetery.

Toby detained Prince after giving chase and identified himself as a police officer. Toby and Peters made checks at a nearby yard and saw the three blocks of cheese.

Toby kept them in his possession. Prince was taken into custody under suspicion of theft. Toby cautioned and interviewed Prince in the presence of another police officer.

Prince volunteered a statement and admitted to the offence, and was later arrested and charged.

Prince had no antecedents before the court.

His lawyer, Michelle Fife told the court that the matter is minor with little to no harm done to Massy Stores overall.

She asked that the court give credit to Prince for admitting to the offence.

She also said that Prince is remorseful for his actions and the offence was “genuinely committed out of desperate circumstances,” relating to poverty.

Fife said that there was also a limited understanding as to the consequences of his action.

Before sentencing, Ballah, who seemed to be somewhat familiar with Prince, urged him “You need to start going back to church.”

Ballah found that the mitigating circumstances outweighed all other circumstances. He placed Prince on a bond for one year in the sum of $500. In default, Prince would pay $500 forthwith or serve one month imprisonment.