No family support for teen in lock-up

A teenager was remanded in custody for another month, as none of his family members attended his court hearing on Monday in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court.

The teen is one of two minors before the court answering to a count of receiving stolen property. They are charged with adults, Rickey Arnold, Andre Taylor and Sharado Thompson, who were offered $200,000 bail with at least two sureties.

"You will have to stay here," Senior Parish Judge Sanchia Burrell told the teen, after hearing that his sister was not able to attend court for his bail hearing.

Allegations shared by prosecutors contend that the accused gained entry to the complainant's home and stole electronics, including an iPad and a tablet, valued at $200,000. Investigators informed the senior jurist that the accused men are also being investigated for burglary.

The parents of the other teenage boy who stood in the dock were chided by Burrell, as the father indicated that his son asked to spend time with his mother at her central Kingston home.

"Well, you see what happened, he is here. Children mustn't always get what they ask for you know, and it seems to me that where he was spending time with his mother, he was knocking head with people who nuh have nothing to do," the judge scolded the parents.

As a condition of the men's bail, they are to report to the police twice weekly and are subjects of a daily curfew. The judge also imposed a condition for the men to inform the police of their intentions to travel outside Kingston and St Andrew.

"So if you are going to Portmore, if you are going to St Thomas, if you are going to St Mary, if you are going to sea, you have to tell the police. It is a new and attractive provision under the Bail Act," Burrell said.

"Now is a good time to catch up on your local geographical boundaries," she added.

The matter was adjourned until November 4 for mention.