Two St Mary men were each fined $20,000 or 30 days imprisonment after they pleaded guilty on separate charges of abstracting electricity.
Both men are alleged to have been stealing electricity from the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) company and appeared in the St Mary Parish Court on Thursday, December 15.
The accused men are Ricardo Ellis and Keino Jaggaroo, both of Trinity in Port Maria, St Mary.
The first to appear on the charge of abstracting electricity was 23-year-old Ricardo Ellis, who told acting senior parish judge Yvette Wentworth-Miller that he was unemployed.
Allegations are that on November 4, officers were on operation in the Trinity community, when a piece of wire was seen thrown on the JPS line. This wire was traced to the house of Ellis. Three appliances were connected to the illegal electricity. These were a light bulb, one DVD player and a television set.
When pleaded, Ellis said he was guilty of the charge.
Judge Wentworth-Miller imposed a fine of $20,000 on Ellis. If he failed to pay the fine, he would spend 30 days in prison.
HE WAS SORRY
Twenty-year-old Keino Jaggaroo also indicated that he was guilty of stealing electricity.
Allegations are that on November 4, at about 10:30 a.m. in Trinity, St Mary, the police were on operation in the community when they saw a piece of wire thrown unto the JPS secondary line. The wire was subsequently traced to the home of the accused, where one light bulb, one radio, a refrigerator and a fan were seen connected.
Jaggaroo was later arrested and charged for the offence and when cautioned he made no comment.
When asked by Judge Wentworth-Miller if there was anything that he would like to say to the court before a sentence was imposed on him, Jaggaroo said: “I’m sorry and I’m not going to let it happen again, Miss.”
Jagaroo was later fined $20,000.
