Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner sent a strong message yesterday — that young people would not get light sentences for committing serious crimes — when he handed out custodial sentences to two teens who went on a burglary spree in January.

He said: “I want to make it clear that even bearing in mind your ages, the offences you have committed cannot and should not be treated any other way than by an immediate custodial sentence.

“You cannot get a slap on the wrist for these crimes because you are young.”

In particular, Mr. Warner said he could not condone the behaviour of one of the defendants, Adrian Whitecross, who pulled a knife on two visitors.

Whitecross,17, pleaded guilty to the offences and appeared in Magistrates’ Court yesterday to be sentenced for the crimes as well as a spate of burglaries he committed with 16-year-old Joshua Boorman.

The 17-year-old, of Railway Trail, Sandys, admitted he held a knife to visitor Juan Sebastian’s abdomen on January 11 while they were on Lighthouse Road, in Southampton. He demanded money from the tourist, who handed over his wallet containing $40.

Before he ran, Whitecross said: “Enjoy yourself in Bermuda.”

Fifteen minutes later, he came across another visitor, a German man who was enjoying a round of golf on Fairmont Southampton’s course and again used his knife.

He held it to the man’s neck and demanded his wallet, which was handed over, before he ran off. The wallet contained a German identity card, 100 Euros and $52 US.

Mr. Warner said he considered all burglaries with a bladed article serious crimes but added that when it was done to tourists it was even worse.

Whitecross, who has a previous conviction for stealing $5, told the court “I am sorry”, but before he could get any further Mr. Warner told him to wipe the smirk off his face.

“I want to apologise to the people and families of those that I have hurt,” he said as he continued his statement.

“I also want to say sorry to the Department of Tourism who has been working hard to get people to come to the Island and I have been scaring them away.

“I would like to turn my life around and leave this behind me. I want to go back to school and get a career.”

Mr. Warner said he did not believe the young man was remorseful and said he had carried out robberies using force which was a more serious crime than he the other burglaries he had admitted to with Boorman.

For each count of burglary on January 11, he sentenced the teen to two years in Westgate, to run concurrently. He also sentenced him to a year in prison for possessing a bladed article, to run concurrently to his other sentences, and three years of probation upon release.

Whitecross appeared in court with 16-year-old Boorman for a spate of house burglaries they committed from January 3 and 18.

Whitecross admitted to stealing $16,000 worth of goods from two of the Southampton homes the boys were accused of burglarising. Among the loot he admitted to taking was a motorcycle, two laptops and two iPods.

He was sentenced to a year in prison for each of the offences, to run concurrently with his other sentences.

Boorman, of Middle Road, Southampton, admitted to stealing $11,196 from three of the homes they were accused of burglarising. He stole five cameras, a DVD player, a flat screen TV and thousands of dollars worth of other goods.

Boorman told the court: “I cannot say or do anything that will make what I did right but I want to say that I am very sorry. I invaded people’s privacy and stole from them.

“I have been remanded for the last two months and think it was a positive thing. I have talked to lots of people and realise that many people do not change when they come out of prison but I want to say that is not me.

“I cannot go on this way and don’t want to. I have goals. I like cutting hair so I want to own a barbershop and get involved in real estate.”

His mother also told the court that her son was a good boy but had made some bad choices. She added that she felt he needed to be held accountable for his actions but that she looked forward to helping him get back on track to become a productive member of society.

Mr. Warner said the 16-year-old had a “remorseful air” about him and that he was taking into account that he had a clean record. He sentenced the young man to corrective training at the Co-Ed facility.

He added: “You were led down the wrong path by keeping bad company and they may have influenced you and your behaviour.

“These are serious offences and I cannot ignore that. That is why I am sentencing you to corrective training. You need some form of structure and if you listen and learn it will help make you a better person.

“How soon you come out (of the Co-Ed facility) will be up to how well you pay attention to the training you get there.”

The two boys did not react to their sentences and were shackled and handcuffed to one another before being escorted away. Outside of the courtroom Boorman’s mother hugged him before he was taken to the Hamilton Police Station.