Two young men have been ordered to pay back a livestock farmer for a $3000 goat which they were found guilty of stealing. Jeron Goodwin,25, and Devon Pryce,28, now have to pay $1500 each to Livestock farmer Romeo Chiddick for his animal.
The two men stole the goat on July 21 from a farm where they were left to feed. Chiddick was alerted by the farm owner and rushed to check on his goats and noticed that a white pregnant doe was gone.
He reported the matter to the police who upon investigating the matter arrested Goodwin of Lower Gambles in August and then Pryce of Grays Farm a month later. When the men appeared before Chief Magistrate Joanne Walsh, they pleaded not guilty to the crime. They were therefore put on trial.
One independent witness claimed to have seen some men in a vehicle with a goat near Frairs Hill Road and even recorded the license plate number out of suspicion.
That license plate number belonged to a vehicle which was rented by Goodwin. Another key witness, Goodwin’s girlfriend, revealed that Pryce came to Goodwin’ s home and asked to borrow his rental car early that day.
And she said that Goodwin borrowed the neighbours vehicle and dropped her off. Between that time and around 7pm, she did not know where he was, she said. Her evidence was contrary to that of Pryce who claimed to not know her or his co-accused.
Goodwin chose not to give evidence. In the end, the Magistrate found both of them guilty of larceny. Pryce’s lawyer,Wendel Robinson, asked that his client be sentenced to time served or be asked to pay compensation since he had been in prison since being arrested.
Michael Archibald in mitigating for his client, Goodwin, made a similar request. Noting that the maximum sentence for such an offense is 5 years in prison, the Magistrate was lenient and asked the men to pay the complainant for his lost animal.
They have to split the cost of the animal and pay the monies by March 31 or in default, spend 6 months in jail with their time spent in jail taken into account.
