“I am going to give you an opportunity . . . so the rest is up to you,” Magistrate Douglas Frederick told Sean Griffith in late March.
The Magistrate then gave Griffith a six month sentence which was suspended for one year. He was told if he breached this condition, he would have to spend the six months behind bars.
Griffith, 40, of Ediston Drive, Pine Hill, St Michael had told Magistrate Frederick in March that it might have been consumption of alcohol which made him “come across as intimidating” on December 22, when he demanded US$10 of Tobias Smith.
That “opportunity” given to Griffith was lost yesterday as the suspended sentence has kicked in.
He had pleaded guilty to robbing Sean Cox of $50 and a baseball bat on June 8, when he went before Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court on Saturday.
He was remanded and returned before the Magistrate yesterday for sentencing.
The 93 days he had spent on remand prior to being sentenced by Magistrate Frederick were taken into consideration. He will therefore spend the remainder of that term, followed by the six months imposed by Magistrate Cuffy-Sargeant, for robbing Cox.
According to Sergeant Neville Reid, the complainant Cox parked his company truck on Roebuck Street, when Griffith approached and asked for a ride back to his motorcycle which he said had broken down, although he did not say where.
Griffith then told Cox his name and asked for $4 for two bus fares.
While the complainant was inside the vehicle searching through his ashtray, Griffith opened the front door and took a baseball bat from under a seat.
He got inside the vehicle and demanded to be driven to Bay Street.
Along the way Griffith pulled a knife from under his shirt and kept telling Cox that he need not be afraid.
After driving through several areas in the City, Griffith eventually said he wanted to get off by Nelson Street.
“I want $20,” Griffith told Cox.
Cox replied that he had $50, which Griffith took before getting out of the vehicle. He further told Cox that he could keep the knife, which he then threw inside the vehicle.
Griffith said he was keeping the bat though, so he took it out of the vehicle and walked away with it. Police saw Griffith a few days later on Bay Street, where he was arrested.