It was a strange response to a jail sentence but a thief today uttered “Praise the Lord!” after Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant sent him to HMP Dodds for two years.
David Christopher Clarke, of no fixed place of abode, had just pleaded guilty to stealing $3, 000 worth of tools from off the back of a van.
Complainant Trevor White went to an event at the Boat Yard on Bay Street on July 5 this year. He parked his van, which had two tool boxes secured by padlocks, in the tray of the vehicle.
White went to the van on several occasions and all was well. However, when he returned around 5 p.m., he noticed tools scattered around on the road. On inspecting them and realising they were his, White also checked his vehicle and found both locks on the tool boxes broken and tools missing.
The stolen items included a drill, angle grinder, wrench and screwdrivers. Police were called and investigations led to 53-year-old Clarke who later told police he had sold the tools to persons in the Nelson Street area.
None of the tools were recovered, the prosecutor informed the court.
When Magistrate Cuffy-Sargeant asked White if he had anything to say before sentencing, he replied: “No please. I am guilty.”
If was after Clarke heard that he would be spending the next two years in prison, that he quietly exclaimed “Praise the Lord!”