Woman jailed for cell phone robbery at knife-point

Twenty-three-year-old Sharon Smith who was accused of using a knife to rob Lochanie Narine of one cell phone was yesterday sentenced to two years imprisonment after appearing before Magistrate Hazel Octive-Hamilton.

Smith had initially entered a not guilty plea to the October 3, 2010 robbery under arms charge after appearing before acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry and had  been on remand since.

The trial into the matter against Smith subsequently commenced before Magis-trate Octive-Hamilton when the accused pleaded guilty to the charge after the virtual complainant took to the witness box on Tuesday and gave evidence.

The magistrate then informed Smith that she was going to rule yesterday.

After being handed down the sentence, a tearful Smith begged the magistrate for lenience and a shorter prison term. The magistrate however told her that she was being lenient as the offence carried a minimum of three years and a maximum of five years imprisonment.

“I have been lenient to you, I haven’t given three nor five; I have given you two instead,” Octive-Hamilton said.

The allegation against Smith, a vendor of 1313 Wortmanville, is that on October 3 at Georgetown, being armed with a knife, she robbed Lochanie Narine of one cell phone valued $40,000, property of the said Lochanie Narine.

Sharon Smith is the daughter of the woman who sat in the middle of High Street outside the Georgetown Magis-trates’ Court in an attempt to protest her daughter’s incarceration.

In the woman’s protest action, she had obstructed the smooth flow of vehicular traffic which resulted in a severe traffic build-up. Tireless efforts by police officers eventually led to the woman’s removal.