Con man racks up 29th conviction

Donovan Butler, the 65 year-old man who confessed to having almost 30 previous convictions for removing dead bodies from a cemetery, will be headed back to prison after pleading guilty to larceny by trick on Thursday in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court.

Prosecutors contend that, on September 22, 2023, the complainant was in a Corporate Area parking lot when she was approached by Butler, who introduced himself as a medical doctor. Butler explained that he was seeking her assistance as police had seized his motor vehicle that his daughter was driving with his licensed firearm inside.

He then begged the complainant to assist him with $30,000 to attend the police station, as he feared being charged with negligent loss of firearm. During the conversation, the complainant received a telephone call from her father, who was ill. Butler interjected and offered medical advice, saying the complainant's father should change his doctor, and even convinced him that he could treat the illness. The complainant's father, having heard Butler's suggestions, told his daughter to give Butler the $30,000. Butler, the court heard, went into a building and did not return, even as the complainant sat for hours awaiting repayment of the sums she lent him.

"This is interesting, these are the things movies are made of. Haven't you come here before? Didn't you tell me that you would not come back before me? Weren't you the one who said to me that you were throwing yourself at the mercy of the court? Didn't you express a sentiment like that before me?' Senior Parish Judge Lori-Anne Cole-Montaque asked probing.

"Yes, Your Honour," Butler responded. He confessed to having 27 previous convictions for removing a corpse from the cemetery, and another conviction for simple larceny. He was first convicted in 2003.

"You can imagine my extreme disappointment at this time, and I suppose it is for that reason you have not even tried to persuade me to be merciful. This was very creative; you not only took the lady's money, but you are on the phone talking to the lady's sick father, pretending to be a doctor. How cruel! And telling the man to change him doctor too," Cole-Montaque said

"I think you and I know that I have no choice but to send you to prison. But now I wonder if more should be done. Perhaps you should go before the High Court for being a habitual offender. You have already gotten three years and you are back here. Something more needs to be done," she said.

Since Butler's release from prison last July, after he was sentenced to three years' imprisonment, he explained that he was admitted to the hospital as he is faced with a heart condition, angina.

He was remanded in custody until March 7, when he is to be sentenced. His criminal records were requested by the senior judge.

- T.T.