18 months jail for cocaine addict

KENDELL JOSEPH, 35, was jailed this morning for 18 months for having a knife, being found on premises and stealing a bottle of rum.

He pleaded guilty and said he committed the acts in order to feed his drug habit – addiction to cocaine. Joseph appeared before senior magistrate Alicia Chankar in the San Fernando court.

Prosecutor PC Cleyon Seedan told Chankar that on Thursday, at about 8.30 pm, Joseph, who lives at George Street, Ste Madeleine, was seen jumping over the fence at the home of Shazard Mohammed at Henry Street, San Fernando. He had a knife. He was confronted but fell and struck his forehead on the ground.

Attorney Ainsley Lucky said Joseph told him he was addicted to cocaine and was on the prowl.

Chankar told Joseph, his past criminal record is contained in a booklet of numerous offences. Of recent vintage, she said, are charges for possession of cocaine and being found on premises. She said, "A man's home is his castle, but even there he's not safe."

For being on Mohammed's premises, the magistrate jailed Joseph for 12 months in prison. He was sentenced to three months for possession of the knife, and three months for stealing the bottle of vodka rum. Chankar ordered that Joseph, a father of two, serve the sentences consecutively, meaning one after the other.