It took Shane Rene Bartlett a while to settle on a plea for a burglary charge.
Initially, he denied the offence. However, when faced with the prospect of being remanded to prison, he asked to change his plea.
But when Acting Magistrate Bernadeth John questioned if he was pleading guilty because he had committed the offence, Bartlett declared he had not and eventually decided to go with his original notguilty plea.
“I gine stick with my plea ‘cause I ain’t went in nobody place,” he said, after his matter had been stood down.
Bartlett, a 40-year-old welder, of Taitt Road, Brittons Hill, St Michael, had just pleaded guilty to four other charges in the District “A” Magistrates’ Court on Friday.
He confessed that he stole two shade mesh nettings, worth $1 800, which belonged to John Burgess on August 16. He also pleaded guilty to resisting Constable Kerwin Cummings and assaulting him, as well as Constable Jabarie Roach on August 29.
He, however, had pleaded not guilty to entering Angelina Harris’ house, on August 29, and stealing 26 glass bottles and 12 bottles of Smirnoff Ice.
“I thought it (the mesh) was just discarded. But when I went back to the man and we talk ‘bout it, Mr John say once I could get he back his mesh, he good,” he told the court.
“The way he had it, I thought it did just lying around. I thought it was garbage. I thought he wasn’t using it no more,” he added.
The thief further told the court when he went to the man who was “holding” the mesh for him, the man “was not there”.
“What were you going to do with it?” asked acting Magistrate Bernadeth John.
“I was going to use it for my own purposes,” Bartlett replied.
“What purpose?” asked the magistrate.
“My purpose,” Bartlett said. “What purpose?” the magistrate asked again.
“I woulda sell it,” Bartlett admitted, “but I could get it back from him.”
The acting magistrate noted that Bartlett had 37 previous convictions.
“From 2002 until as recent as March 29 police were dealing with you, so you are aware of how to behave when police approach you,” she said. (HLE)
