A mason from Chaguanas, who claimed he broke the ongoing curfew to take food for his wife and young child, has been fined $8,000.
Kevin Mitchell was charged with the offence on July 24 but was sentenced after pleading guilty during his first court appearance before Magistrate Duane Murray on Thursday.
Mitchell was arrested around 11.30 pm on July 23 after police officers found him walking along New Settlement Street, Caroni Savannah Road in Chaguanas.
According to the summary of evidence in the case, Mitchell was allegedly walking in the company of another man and both men ran upon seeing the officers in their marked police vehicle.
The officers only managed to arrest Mitchell, while the next man escaped. Mitchell was granted station bail by a Justice of the Peace (JP) and given the hearing date.
Presenting a mitigation plea on Mitchell’s behalf, his lawyer Bhimal Maharajh claimed that around 9.30 pm on the night of the incident, his client, a father of six, received a distress call from his wife, who was staying at her mother’s house with his youngest daughter.
“His wife called saying she does not have food for her and the child. His fatherly instinct kicked in and he took a chance and dropped the food,” Maharajh said.
In pleading for leniency for Mitchell, Maharajh asked Magistrate Murray to consider his client’s clean criminal record and the fact that he did not waste judicial time by pleading guilty to the offence at his first opportunity.
Murray decided to fine Mitchell and gave him six months in which to pay it. In the event that he fails to meet the deadline, he will face a six-month prison term.
Under the Emergency Powers Regulations 2021, which prescribes the daily 9 pm to 5 am curfew, persons in breach face a maximum penalty of a $250,000 fine and six months in prison.
This week, Parliament voted to extend the ongoing State of Emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic by a further three months.
