JOSEPH George, also known as ‘Bounty’, was sent back to the ‘slammer’ for  another three years after pleading guilty to robbery.
George, who was released from prison only three weeks ago after serving a three-year sentence, was travelling in a Route 44 minibus when it stopped to put off a passenger in the vicinity of the Friendship railway embankment.
Seeing an opportunity to make some money, the accused dealt another passenger, Donald Goberdan, who was asleep at the time, several slaps and snatched his 30-cwt gold chain, valued at $270,000, and ran.
But unfortunately for him, he was caught by a passing police patrol, which carried out a search on his person and found the missing chain, which was later identified by the VC as his.
George was subsequently arrested and charged with the offence.
In his defence, he told the court that he was prompted to commit the illegal act because his “ghetto youths” were home hungry, and that frustration had gotten the better of him as, having gotten out of jail only recently, no one would offer him work, having branded him a common thief.
When Magistrate Shurdel Isaacs-Marcus told the young man that he had the  option of going to ‘the bush’ to seek employment rather than committing robbery, he arrogantly replied, showing little or no remorse, that he has malaria and that it was still in his system.
In response, Magistrate Isaacs-Marcus stated that malaria or not, persons accustomed to working in ‘the bush’ would go back to find work, and that having malaria was no excuse for his actions.
Asked by the magistrate what he was doing for the three years he was in jail, George admitted to the court that most of his time in prison was spent in solitary confinement since he would often be in conflict with other prisoners.
“Mam, ah telling yuh de truth, me and them bannas does get it out, because I don’t tek stupidness from nobody,” he said.
He also admitted snatching Goberdan‘s chain, but denied slapping him as alleged, which accusation he was deeply offended by.
Having gotten that off his chest, he then pleaded with the Magistrate for a light sentence of three months imprisonment, seeing that he was just out from serving a three-year sentence.
But his pleas fell on deaf ears as he was sent back to prison for another three years. At this, the prisoner began hurling profanities at the Magistrate, and called on ‘Jah’ to judge her since, according to him, she was in no position to judge him.