Farmer gets suspended sentence for fake driver’s licence

A livestock farmer who confessed to a senior judge that he obtained a fake driver's licence was yesterday given a suspended sentence when he appeared in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court.

Mark Rodney pleaded guilty to uttering forged documents and conspiracy to defraud. It is reported that Rodney was asked to produce his driver's licence to the police during a traffic stop, but when checks were made, it was revealed that the document produced was not registered to the tax system. Senior Parish Judge Lori-Ann Cole-Montague was shown the fake licence Rodney uttered and asked the defendant how much money he paid for it. Rodney told the judge he paid $40,000. It was not disclosed how long he was driving with it.

He was sentenced to four months' imprisonment suspended for 18 months for conspiracy to defraud. For uttering forged documents, Rodney was ordered to pay a fine of $60,000 or serve imprisonment for six months. He is to appear in the Corporate Area Traffic Court on March 25 to face additional charges of driving without insurance, no driver's licence and disobeying traffic signs.

- T.T.