A man with a bad history of stealing was sent to prison when he appeared in the St Ann Parish Court on Thursday, August 10.
Twenty-one-year-old Odane Morgan pleaded guilty to the charges of larceny and robbery with aggravation on Thursday, and was sentenced by senior parish judge Andrea Thomas.
An additional charge of assault at common law was dropped as the crown offered no evidence.
Morgan’s father, who was also in court, was brought to tears before the 30-month sentence was handed down to his son.
Allegations are that on August 31, 2016, Morgan, armed with a knife, robbed a woman, Tamika Henry of her handbag containing cash, a cell phone, a bank card and an identification card. Ms Henry, who appeared in court on Tuesday, said the funds from her account were cleared when the card was stolen.
Morgan is also charged for robbing Jason Mesua of a cell phone and a suitcase with clothes and other personal items, on February 3.
Allegations in another matter are that on January 8, Morgan stole $2000 cash from Taniesha Keys.
Morgan was also charged for another matter on that day, after it was alleged that he stole a phone valued at a little over $12,000, belonging to Daydria Keys.
Morgan was brought into custody in February and has not been granted bail since.
It was revealed to the court that Morgan has been previously convicted for matters of similar nature in other parishes, and had only finished serving his sentence recently.
Attorney Nathan Geddes- Morrison, on Thursday, told the court that he considered Morgan’s case to be “unique” as unlike many other males in Jamaica, Morgan “has a father who cares.”
Mr Geddes Morrison added that Morgan, in pleading guilty, has “taken responsibility for his actions and shows remorse”. Mr Geddes-Morrison also says he believes Morgan’s habit of stealing is because of “a diagnosis”. This is, however not known or proven.
There was a discussion between Judge Thomas and Mr Geddes-Morrison. During the discussion Mr Morrison expressed that Morgan could be assisted through a rehabilitation programme.
Judge Thomas, after outlining certain things, said “prison is not a nice place to go”. This she directed to young people, especially males.
She then questioned Morgan ,“who does change begin with?”
In response Morgan said “Me”.
The mitigating factors of the sentence handed down were Morgan’s age and the entry of his guilty plea.
