Man jailed in cheque kiting scheme

A 26-year-old Pembroke man was given a year in prison for stealing more than $18,000 from the Bank of Bermuda through a cheque kiting scheme carried out two years ago.

Jahmeco Blakeney of Footbridge Lane, Pembroke pleaded guilty to 21 counts of cheque kiting $18,858.80 yesterday in Magistrates' Court.

Crown Counsel Wayne Caines told Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo that Blakeney had operated the scheme through two Bank of Bermuda accounts, transferring non-existent funds from one account to another to artificially inflate a bank balance

"On December 23, 2003 Blakeney opened an account at the Bank of Bermuda under the name Slayton Communications which he said was for a business he had selling motor vehicle anti-theft devices," said Mr. Caines. "Until April, 2004 he used the chequing account for everyday living expenses."

On April 11, 2004, Blakeney began the cheque kiting scheme, writing cheques in the name of his business and depositing them into his personal account.

He started with a cheque for $368, but cheques grew to be as large as $9,999. A cheque of over $10,000 would have drawn the bank;s attention. On June 9, 2004 he did write a $10,000 cheque which is when the scheme began to unravel.

"On June 11, his Slayton account had a negative balance of 2,389.78 and his other account was $16,469.10 overdrawn," said Mr. Caines.

Blakeney has previous convictions including a break-in at Clearwater Middle School and is currently remanded in custody.

Blakeney's lawyer Shade Subair said he had a drug addiction.

Mr. Caines said that Blakeney had missed seven months of a drug treatment programme, adding: "$18,000 is a considerable amount of money. None of the money was ever recovered."

"The only appropriate sentence is a custodial sentence," said Mr. Tokunbo, who then sentenced Blakeney to 12 months in prison for each count of cheque kiting, to run concurrently.

Ex-reporter faces theft charge

Former television journalist Ceola Wilson, accused of stealing two pairs of sunglasses from a gas station, said she had failed to show for her trial in May because she wasn't able to secure the lawyer of her choice.

Wilson, 45, of Middle Road, Southampton has pleaded not guilty to stealing the sunglasses from a Southampton gas station. She is a former ZBM and VSB reporter.

"I maintain my plea of not guilty," Wilson told Senior Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo.

"I have a right to an attorney and an attorney of my choice. I would like to ask for a mention. I am not coming to court with a weak lawyer. I intend to win."

But the Senior Magistrate told her she was only entitled to the lawyer of her choice if that lawyer was available.

"I will be ready on September 28 with or without a lawyer," Wilson vowed.

The matter was adjourned for mention on September 28.

Bartender had too much to drink

A 29-year-old bartender, who hid in the bushes after losing control of her car, was fined $800 for impaired driving yesterday in Magistrates' Court.

Tricia Ann Flowers pleaded guilty to driving while impaired by alcohol.

Crown Counsel Carrington Mahoney told the court that at 3.59 a.m. on August 28 several police officers were sitting on Parsons Lane in Devonshire in a marked police car when they heard a motor vehicle travelling toward them at a high speed.

"As she approached their vicinity she lost control of the vehicle and spun around," said Mr. Mahoney. "She came to a stop, got out of the vehicle and ran and hid in the bushes."

Eventually, Flowers came out and spoke with police. They noticed that her breath smelled of alcohol and her speech was slurred.

"She told police she was driving but was not drunk. She said, 'I could do the test right now and I would pass'," said Mr. Mahoney.

However, this proved to be untrue as she later failed a breath sample test.

Flowers said to Senior Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo, "I apologise to the court and it won't happen again. I will pay my fine."

The Senior Magistrate fined Flowers $800 and disqualified her from driving for 12 months.

After some whispered consultation with other people in the gallery, Flowers asked for some time to pay the fine.

The Senior Magistrate asked her how much time she needed, and after more consultation with those around her, Flowers asked for at least three weeks.

Senior Magistrate Tokunbo said she needed to pay the fine by October 6 or face 80 days in prison.

$1,000 fine for drug possession

A 37-year-old Devonshire man received a $1,000 fine for possession of drugs found in a car, but pleaded not guilty to offences relating to the car itself, yesterday in Magistrates' Court.

Kimlo Charles Webb pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis but not guilty to driving without a licence, having no third party insurance and having an unlicensed vehicle.

Crown Counsel Carrington Mahoney told Senior Magistrate Khamisi Tokumbo that on the evening of September 22, 2005 police were called to HWP on St. John's Road in Pembroke to assist a plain clothed officer who was arresting Webb on another matter.

"Police searched the white Nissan March car he was in, and found one homemade cigarette in the dashboard," said Mr. Mahoney.

"When questioned, he said 'It's weed'. They also found in the car a black stocking containing plant material. Webb said, 'Yeah it's mine'."

The dashboard cannabis was later found to weigh .080 grams and the drug material in the stocking weighed 7.95 grams.

Webb told the Senior Magistrate, "I apologise for wasting the court's time."

He was given a $1,000 fine for the drugs, and given until October 31 to pay or face 100 days in prison in default of payment.

He pleaded not guilty to the driving charges saying the car was his sister's.

"I don't have a car," he said. "I wasn't driving a car sir. Yes, I want to have a trial."

His trial was set for October 19.