Three years for sacrilege!!
By Terresa McCall
Reporrter-SKNVibes.com
~~Adz:Right~~ BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – DESCRIBING the act as “sick behaviour”, Justice Francis Belle sentenced a Tabernacle man to serve a prison sentence after he pleaded guilty of sacrilege committed on July 17, 2007.
Adned Patrick, 29, stood before Justice Belle earlier today (Sept. 25) guilty of breaking into the Tabernacle of Faith Church in Tabernacle Village and stealing one 80-inch Woofer (speaker) and a microphone from the store room.
According to the particulars of the case, Pastor George Ward secured the Church at about 12:00 p.m. on that day and when he returned on July 24, he discovered that the lock which secured the storeroom was smashed and the items missing. The matter was reported to the police and investigations were conducted.
Sometime later, Pastor Ward had reason to be at the Edgar T. Morris Primary School and saw the accused, who was to have provided DJ services, with the said speaker. He contacted the police who arrived on the scene and made investigations resulting in the accused being charged.
On Tuesday, at the commencement of the September 2008 Criminal Assizes, Patrick pleaded guilty to the charge.
During the sentencing hearing, Justice Belle said he has yet to understand what would possess an individual to break into a church. “I don’t understand what would move someone to break into a church and steal…”
Patrick, who was afforded an opportunity to address the court, said at the time of the incident he was not himself and asked the court to exercise leniency.
“I will like you all to give me a chance…I went away from myself for a while…I was drinking at the time…”
Justice Belle told the construction worker that in sentencing him, the court would take into consideration that this is his first offence on record and that he avoided wasting the court’s time by pleading guilty.
“I won’t give you the maximum but I think you need a custodial sentence because this is sick behaviour…You are going to have to go to prison.”
Patrick was sentenced to serve three years at Her Majesty’s Prison with hard labour.
