prison for failing to pay more than $1,000 in traffic fines.

Warwick resident Keith McPherson, 25, became violent and had to be restrained by a Police officer and a prison guard when Magistrate Edward King ordered him to be taken into custody for nearly four months.

McPherson, of Camp Road, appeared because he had not paid the collective sum of $1,040 for traffic offences on which he was convicted last July.

He was also fined more than $10,000 in the same month for three charges related to the breeding of his Pitbull terriers.

Yesterday, Mcpherson pleaded with Mr. King to give him more time to catch up with his payments, saying that he had been out of work for the last few months because his boss was ill in hospital.

"I live on my own,'' he said, "and I have to pay rent. And I haven't been working for a while so I can't possibly pay the money now.'' But Mr. King stood firm in his position, saying: "I'm not interested in your boss. He wasn't the one who appeared before me and received these fines. You were.'' After several minutes of arguing, the magistrate ordered a Police officer to "take him where he belongs''.

But McPherson reacted aggressively when the officer tried to put handcuffs on him.

With assistance from a prison guard, the officer managed to take McPherson away.

He will spend 119 days in prison or less if he pays the fines.