Offer of Help Rejected – Sentence Activated

February 16, 2011

In Magistrates Court this morning [Feb 16], 20-year-old Ajani Albouy-Lovell, convicted of two counts of theft, had an earlier eighteen month suspended sentence activated. Sentencing for the two convictions had previously been delayed pending a report from his Probation Officer.

This morning, the Probation Officer was present and reported on Mr Albuoy-Lovell. He said that he had last seen him on Friday 11th February 2011 but that Mr Albouy-Lovell was in danger of breaching his probation.

Asked by Magistrate Warner if he had anything to say, Mr Albouy-Lovell said: “I can’t sugarcoat anything I’ve done. I’ve made bad choices. I’ve been looking for work since I left Westgate. I don’t have any work and I don’t know what to do.. I’m living with my mother who only has two days work a week.”

The female complainant, who had earlier lodged a complaint that Mr Albouy-Lovell had stolen her Ipod stood and asked to address the Magistrate. In part, and saying that she was seeking to help avoid a custodial sentence being passed, she said: “I tried to withdraw the complaint but it was not possible. As a single mother of an 18- year-old, maybe someone else can help this young man and I am offering my help to him.”

Having heard the victim’s plea for compassion and her offer of personal help, Magistrate Warner countered by relating Mr Albouy-Lovell’s antecedents. The Magistrate pointed out that on 11 December 2009, he had been convicted of theft, had a Social Inquiry Report ordered, and had subsequently been given an eighteen month custodial sentence, suspended for three years. This suspended sentence was accompanied by a three year Probation period.

While on Probation, on 21 January 2010, Mr Albouy-Lovell was convicted of another offence of Breaking and Entering. This resulted in an extension of his probation. He then committed two more offences on the 2nd and 10th of February 2011. One of these offences involved the theft of the victim’s Ipod.

The Magistrate countered her offer of help by pointing out that over time, Mr Albouy-Lovell had been offered the full resources of the island and had not seen fit to make use of them.

With that, the Magistrate sentenced Mr Albouy-Lovell to three months in prison for the February 2011 offences and activated the eighteen month suspended sentence. The sentences were to run concurrently.

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Comments (21)

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  1. itwasn't me says:

    BDA Westgate – $80K per year per convict

    Jamaica Jail – $10K per year per convict

    Why won’t we use our Caricom status to our benefit????????

    • Bermudian abroad says:

      I never been an inmate so I dont know, but I propose making the inmates work no pay. They can hep give back to our community in some way!

    • White Jesus II says:

      To ‘itwasntme’: Please, just inform as to whether or not you intend on rewording your comment on every article linked to imprisonment. Please further educate yourself on the situation so you can give more eloborate commentary. That is all.

  2. Terry says:

    Cause Jamaica full man. Nah yoo want de brother Ewart to make more muney sanding seemant too dee islands?

    Maybee sheeft sum frum hair. Weeze sinkin arryday….Jah leeves….

  3. BDA Realist says:

    This is a product of a system not built for young black Bermudians. Even if you have education you cant find work.

    NO disrespect for Jamaica but its a 3rd world country, which will only make bermudian men come back more crazy with a far worst mentality. Basically, it wont help at all.

  4. I don't get it says:

    I don’t get it….this system is set up for our young black boys to fail…and this is a prime example of it. They lock them up, the do their time, no rehabilitation, let back out into a society that won’t help them. Times are very hard right now and I don’t condone what he has done, but if the complainant offered help, that may have just been the point where this boy felt he can turn his life around. He is in between a rock and a hard place….I don’t know the answer to these problems but I do know in this case my opinion is that the judge should allow him to get help, he will only repeat his crime yet again, then back up to Westgate, this will continue to happen for the rest of his life….sad.

    • S Brown says:

      The same system that produces a young black Bermudian doctor, the same system that produce a black professor giving a lecture about Bermudian History…. Stop making excuses for us.

      • Bermudian abroad says:

        different perspectives make a big differences in the outcome of a person. yes everyone who commits crimes can do better. However we cannot judge them since we have not lived in their shoes. The system does have a role to play in it.
        Last note Terry, please spell just a lil bit better next time, i had a hard time reading what u were trying to say (still not sure).

      • Happy says:

        Well said,cause we always look at the reason why he/they do bad,what makes the others do good,maybe no one was holding there hands,thats what a lot of use do,everyone of those that do bad no what the hell they are doing,let them stand on there two feet,pull there socks up and use whats out there for them.Enough is enough,if they went to ride up and down the main rd and get off at the same stop,well poor them,I mean the police’s time could be wasted some more by taking them up the rd,grow the hell up.

  5. Scott says:

    “The Magistrate countered her offer of help by pointing out that over time, Mr Albouy-Lovell had been offered the full resources of the island and had not seen fit to make use of them.”

    how is he set up to fail? Personal choice does have to factor in at some point..you cant help someone that doesnt honestly want to be helped.

    • It Is What It Is? says:

      Employed as Behavioral Therapist I can honestly say that what might work for one individual might not necessarily work for another. Currently on my caseload at school I have 15 students on Behavioral Management Plans (BMP) and not one of them are the same…different recources, different strategies, different time frames, different outcomes..so whilst Mr. Lovell may have exhausted all resources that were available on the island, they may have not been what he needed. Whose to say that the lady that offered assistance may not have been the answer…. of course we may never know now that he has been incarcerated….sometimes solutions are found when you least expect them…..

      • Scott says:

        yeah that is valid point… i guess a lot of people wonder tho, at what point do you stop trying to help the criminal and actually start physically protecting people from his actions (ie finally lock them up).

        i know lockup has host of other issues related to how they’d be after the sentence, but in my mind, although there may be SOME form of help that would work, you cant give infinite chances in hopes that you may one day find it.

        Now that doesnt mean i say give up on people. The students you mention, by all means keep chipping away to find out what works… but when someone is terrorizing and stealing while the public waits for something to actually kick in, at some point it needs to be stopped.

  6. BDA says:

    this is all crap. im tired of theives!!!!!!! The same people break in peoples homes and steal over and over again, go to jail for 2 months and are back out doing the same thing.
    it makes me so mad when i see these theives riding around on a STOLEN pedal bike when i work 2 jobs and cannot even afford one!
    they always want to blame society. they get more chances than anyone.

    ITS SIMPLE…..grow up and get a job for once.

    and anyone who does not agree with me has never had their home broken into.

    effin theives (mad face)

  7. FOR REAL??? says:

    Does it seem like this young brother has learnt anything since his (I assume) first visit with the courts back in 2009 when he got a break??? He continued down the wrong path, even with a probation officer assigned to him to assist him with providing direction/structure (he has someone he could ask for help). You have to start somewhere. He already has a record and therefore this may have hendered his opportunities on the job front. However, there isn’t much to steal as a pot washer/kitchen porter. I mean really it’s a legit paying job for someone with no formal education. A guaranteed pay check if you show up and wash. How hard is that?!!?

    Some of these disingenuous kids think because of their circumstances they should be given more than the average person. But it is up to the individual to lift themselves up out of their circumstances. No one in their right mind would turn away someone who has proven they are trying to get beyond their plight. May be he needs to sit ‘up top’ and think about what he has done thus far with his life and where he would like to go after his time is served. And I hope the probationary services can further assist this young man with drafting a path to redirect him on a better path in life. Persons like this young man whilst on probation should be forced by the magistrate to attend the custodial Mirrors programme – paid for by us tax payers. I would not have a problem with our money being spent to assist fellow Bermudians with improving themselves.

  8. Nicki says:

    What more resources does he need that this island doesn’t have? Come on now. It comes a time when we have to stop making excuses. It is not set up for black men to fail, a lot of them aren’t breaking the law and stealing. They work and go to school. Some people are just hell bent on breaking the law and being criminals and he seems like one.

  9. Reality says:

    Those black males that are failing are a minority. Mr. Albouy-Lovell has had many chances and has even been in Mirrors program. A prison sentence may shake him up a bit but in the mean time the rest of the law abiding public must be protected from thieves.

  10. Jim Garlic says:

    Simple solution;set the hound dog on any thief,don’t care if he black or white.

  11. Wahoo says:

    If all these guys were in England they would all be on the dole and robbing folks on the side

  12. SJS says:

    Wow, it is amazing how quickly we are to speak (in this case type) and judge one another without knowing the whole story. Is it safe to assume that all the negative comments made above are from individuals who live sinless lives – John 8:7 “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone”)
    I do not know Mr. Albouy-Lovell personally and it is unfortunate that he has made some pretty awful choices in his young life. I am in no way condoning his actions but there are obviously deeper issues than what is on the surface and what was said in court.
    During his court hearing he tried reaching out and did admitt that he has a communication challenge. His court appointed officer was no help at all. Very quick to point out this young mans faults but not quick to point out how he has been able to direct or assist with his habit.
    I refuse to be the victim, as referred to in this article,and I am still willing to assist this young man with his rehabillitation. YES, I AM STILL GOING TO HELP HIM GET HIS LIFE ON THE RIGHT ROAD.
    If this is not devine intervention then I don’t know what it is.
    Blessed

  13. Scott G says:

    Bermuda is literally a next Jamaica in the making. Just wait and see.