Thief bawls for mercy - Crook swipes iPhone five months after leaving prison

A confessed thief shed tears and cried out to the Almighty in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court yesterday after he was ordered to remain in custody until he is sentenced.

"Oh Lord have mercy! Jesus! Help me Fada God, help me," Dwight Bell bellowed in court, lifting his head towards the ceiling. Bell was released from prison five months ago after spending eight months for simple larceny, the same offence for which he appeared before Senior Parish Judge Lori-Anne Cole-Montaque yesterday.

He pleaded guilty to that charge and to unlawful possession of property. The court heard that on May 9, Bell entered the complainant's business place in Liguanea, St Andrew, and ordered a blow dryer. When the complainant returned, he noticed that his iPhone was missing. The phone was tracked and placed at a stall in front of the Bustamante Hospital for Children. Bell was identified by the complainant and the phone was also found on his person by the police.

Bell begged for leniency from the judge, whom he previously appeared before, and claimed that he had learnt his lesson following incarceration.

"Your Honour, please Your Honour, I am asking for some mercy. If it's even to pay some restitution Your Honour. I have a family and I actually started a business after I came out from prison Your Honour. I started a cookshop at my house because I am a chef. So I do soup and fish on weekends Your Honour. Please, Your Honour, I am begging you mercy, please," he stressed. But Cole-Montaque was not swayed and was further angered after the complainant shared that his car was stolen three days after Bell stole his phone and that Bell's relatives had approached him. Speaking directly to Bell's mother, she condemned the family for interfering with a Crown witness.

"You should a get lock up fi dat too. What you are doing is trying to intimidate the man and he has no say at this time what will be done. It's entirely in my discretion and at this time, my mind is that your son must go to prison for this offence," Cole-Montaque told the woman who started crying.

Bell was made the subject of a fingerprint order and his criminal records are to be made available on July 25, when it is expected he will be sentenced.