Conditional discharge for thief

A 32-year-old Pembroke man pleaded guilty to stealing more than $1,200 in jewellery and cash, arguing his former drug habit was the cause of his actions.

Senior Crown counsel Paula Tyndale told Magistrates' Court that on May 26, 2007, Police attended a residence on Middle Town Drive in Pembroke.

The complainant told Police that when she came home she noticed panes from a kitchen window were removed, and $250 taken from a purse.

She also said that two gold pendants worth $200 each were stolen, along with a gold chain with a crucifix pendant worth $400.

A resident of the same neighbourhood, Tio Weeks, was identified by fingerprint analysis as the culprit.

Weeks was arrested and questioned.

He told Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner that during the time of the incident he was heavily involved in drugs.

He apologised for the offence saying, "I am currently in an intensive methadone programme at Turning Point and I know I cannot turn back the hands of time to change what I have done, but I ask for leniency."

Mr. Warner gave Weeks a 24-month conditional discharge.

CITV off the air

A faulty machine which changes programmes has led to Government's TV channel CITV being pulled off air until it can be fixed.

Department of Communications and Information director Beverle Lottimore said the machine began playing up about two weeks ago and staff had to manually change programmes.

After Christmas the channel came off air but the machine then started working again. When CITV went on air again yesterday, the machine lasted an hour before breaking down.

Government is contacting suppliers in California to work out a way to fix the glitch.

A survey conducted early last year, showed that just two percent of the population watched CITV – compared with 41 percent watching ZBM, 16 percent watching VSB and three percent watching Fresh TV-3.

CITV was launched last year to show unedited press conferences and cultural material. It costs nearly $1 million a year to run.

Teen fined for impaired driving

An 18-year-old pleaded with a Magistrate for community service instead of a fine, after being convicted of drunk driving.

Police spotted Michael Buchanan driving in an erratic manner in Hamilton on Saturday night.

The officers signalled for him to stop and gave chase in the direction of Lane Hill, after Buchanan continued to ride.

When Police were eventually able to stop Buchanan, they asked why he did not stop.

He said: "I wanted to see if you guys can catch me."

The officers noticed Buchanan was unsteady on his feet, his speech was slurred and he smelled of intoxicants.

He was arrested and taken to Hamilton Police Station. A breathalyser test showed he had a reading of 120 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. The legal limit is 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood.

Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner fined Buchanan $1,000, disqualified him from driving all vehicles and awarded him ten demerit points.

Buchanan asked if he could do community service instead. As the dependant of a guest worker, he is not allowed to work.

He said: "I don't think it would be fair to ask my mother to pay the fine."

Mr. Warner said: "It don't work like that here but there is an alternative – three months in prison."

Buchanan said: "I'll pay the fine."

Two arrested on suspicion of impaired driving

Over the weekend there were 13 reported road accidents three of which resulted in injury.

There were also two people arrested on suspicion of impaired driving, eight reported burglaries and four vehicles stolen.

Woman interrupts burglar

A Smith's parish woman spotted a man stealing from her home while she was in another room.

The Sommersall Road resident told Police that around 12.30 a.m. on Sunday, she was in her bedroom watching TV when she heard noises in another part of the apartment.

When she went to investigate she discovered a man in her home. The culprit escaped with an iPod Nano and a flashlight. He is described as a black male wearing a red hooded jacket and blue jeans.

In another incident on Sunday, Police received a report of a burglary at a Fairyland Road, Pembroke home.

The complainants stated that sometime between 12 noon and 2.10 p.m., someone broke into their home while it was empty and stole two BlackBerry Curve cell phones.

Man who defied road ban is disqualified until 2012

A man caught driving while disqualified on three occasions has been banned from the Island's roads until 2012.

Kyle Henderson, 24, of Mary Victoria Road, in Devonshire, was banned from driving from September 14, 2007 until September 13, 2008, but between that time he was regularly caught disobeying the law.

On November 29, 2007, Henderson was caught driving while disqualified after being involved in a collision.

On May 10 he was caught again while pack racing on South Road and on May 28 he was recognised by officers while riding a cycle on South Road, in Devonshire.

Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo told Henderson: "You obviously don't have any regard for the court." He then suspended him from the roads for three years.

The Magistrate also ordered Henderson to immediately pay $2,500 for the offences or face 100 days imprisonment.