Teen Gets Conditional Discharge For Bike Theft
Following his earlier guilty plea and subsequent conviction for stealing a motorcycle in October 2014, a 19-year-old male appeared in Court today [Mar 12] for sentencing.
After considering the Social Inquiry Report, after grilling the young man on why he had acted as he had, and after hearing, in Court, from both parents of the young man, Senior Magistrate Juan Wolffe ruled that the young man was to be given a Conditional Discharge, good for twelve months.
A Conditional Discharge means that no conviction is recorded and that at the end of the Conditional Discharge period, a person can lawfully state that he or she does not have a criminal conviction or criminal record.
The conditions attached to the man’s discharge were that he must refrain from using illegal drugs, alcohol, undergo random drug tests, and participate in any programs set up by the Department of Court Services.
The Senior Magistrate directly addressed the Press bench and asked that the man’s name not be published, as the effect of publishing his name would be to negate the intended effect and purpose of the Conditional Discharge.
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So, another one gets off free for bike theft.
Wonder if the Magistrate knows what it is like to come outside & find your bike gone? Doubt it. He has no idea of the hassel of reporting the theft to the BPS, who basically shrug their shoulders, wait 2 weeks without transport before the insurance company will pay just in case the bike turns up, be stuck with the devalued amount that the insurance company pays & have to make up the difference for a new bike as well as pay the higher insurance premium for the new bike.
The whole procedure is at least 3 weeks of inconvenience & paying for alternate transport.
The little creep who stole the bike gets off with a conditional discharge. SMH!!
Oh sure, you can take the little creep to civil court & sue for your costs. What are the chances of getting anything out of that?
Agree 100%. The crook gets barely a slap on the wrist while the victim has to deal with the aforementioned results of the theft, financially and psychologically.
What a loser.
Sort your life out son.
i totally agree.. and considering the bikes now cost thousands of dollars .. this should not be taken lightly.. i have had my bike stolen.. to come outside on your way to work.. find alternate trnsport that is costly.. the stress of it all.. but oh because he is young.. yeah.. well someine should have to come up with the immediate dollars for the transport. It seems the victims will be punished for this crime rather than the perps..
Very true foldgers. But that applies to all crimes, not just bike theft. It is always the victim who pays for the crimes. Just watch any court case. The “suspect” can just sit there and never have to take the stand if they don’t want to, while the victim and anyone else involved HAVE to take the stand and get belittled and grilled by Defence Attorneys. Only to have to pay for it all anyway in some form or fashion, while the “suspect” walks away laughing at how easy it was to get away with their crime.
you above are clearly a victim i understand how you feel he shoulda atleast got community service or a fine anybody can get through probation but i say this not directly towards this case but motorcycle thefts would be drastically decreased if the companies simply sell parts for what they sell have you ever been to buys parts for a bike they have you waiting for more than a year at times and those simple minded Bermudians who think they have no choice will go out and find or pay someone to find what they need
Is this comment a joke?!!! You’re talking about bike parts? Thefts would decrease is parts were cheaper? That’s like saying crime would be nonexistent if everyone was rich!
This is a period —> . <—. Please feel free to scatter them around your ramblings.
Smh your feelings are very true. !! But you don’t know the reason for the judgment given ! The magistrate judge isn’t stupid !!
I agree Triangle. If I catch anyone…they’re getting a beatdown!!
Says the anonymous street fighter.. stfu
At 19 years old, isn’t he an adult in the eyes of the law?? Why not in this case
Try and steal MY bike next time and watch what happens, punk. Think you can outrun my dog?
PATHETIC!…the Magistrates and Higher Courts are far too soft in Bermuda!
Give a little boy a kiss and hug and ask him nicely please don’t do it again…little !
Happens all the time in many US suburbs… FACT!!!!
The Magistrate should be sentenced to 4 months in prison for being incompetent!!!! and we wonder why this behavior is only getting WORST!!!! Sad and sick world we live in??? If I was the Magistrate, that thief would have been made to pay the cycle owner the cost of the bike he STOLE and on top of that I would have taken his drivers license from him until the cost was paid, a 30 day prison sentence and then 120 hrs community service!!!
This should be 6 months to a year jail time and the person’s name should be posted in the news just like for “drug crimes”.
Our court system is a joke. A conditional discharge… This is nonsense.
What was the scene of him even going to court? We are going right back to sodom & Gomorrah times… He should have been made to clean public toilets for stealing that bike. Yet someone gets caught with a few joints and they get a big *** fine or possible jail time.
Like Triangle Drifter said, its not a good feeling to come outside or home from work to find your belongings stolen. SMDH
There must be extenuating circumstances here.
If that were your son Drifter. If the complainant did not speak.
So much crap going on. We all need a chance.
From three corners to four Drifter?
Shalom.
No way, if you are involved in this you need a lesson.
He didn’t just chance upon this situation. Good people don’t end up before judges for bike theft.
SHhhh!!! What are good people? People that get caught or those that commit a crime? Those of one persuasion or ….
This only encourages others to steal if they know they are going to get away with it in court. The courts are far too lenient
These little thugs need to be taught a lesson and maybe they will think twice next time before they steal
“A Conditional Discharge means that no conviction is recorded and that at the end of the Conditional Discharge period, a person can lawfully state that he or she does not have a criminal conviction or criminal record.”
Biggest lie I was ever told.
Whats funny to me is how people complain about the cost of housing these “thugs” but the same people will turn around and complain when the judge saves the tax payers money and gives them a second chance to change their life around. Yes! what he did was wrong but at the same time he proved to be very remorseful and clearly the social inquiry report backed him up. He was a first time offender so this is his saving grace and if he messes up again then he deserves what he gets. Jail is not always the answer!!
Community service?
Perfect. Every Saturday could be community service day. Dress them up in orange coveralls & send them out on the roads for supervised trash picking up. Pull a no show? No problem. For every day no showed add 2 more to be done.
Not many people have suggested jail. Not as a first recourse anyway.
At the very least first, second, third, whatever offense the offender should pay for replacement of the vehicle plus all expenses of the owner & compensation for inconvenience incurred during their time without transport.
Until such retribution to the owner is made the offender’s license should be suspended, travel documents confiscated & cellphone Government license suspended, i.e. phone disabled no new phone either.
Harsh penaltys will get out to those considering bike theft real fast & make first offenders think before becoming first offenders.
jail…maybe not but FULL Restitution should be a minimum requirement along with a fine and other conditions such as community service hours,and a suspended sentence.
How many bikes might he have stolen before he got caught? Bike stealing is big business; he should at least get a fine.
this is grand auto theft, bikes are worth thousands, like two or three months whole paychecks, how is the person supposed to get to work or to pick up family for months?
who will pay for the rental bike? you judges and police make me sick, there is no justice it is blind and dumb, not worthy.
you people do not uphold justice but injustice, you are the opposite of what you should be
steal my bike i chop your hands off, get that right ok?
make chopped off hands law please or these animals will keep robbing us of our hard-earned belongings, they are scum animals and dont deserve to be on our streets breathing our air.
my bike got stolen when it was brand new, and me and my poor wife were devastated and impacted us terribly. you thieves can all rot in hell, and when you are there I will be there burning and poking you with the red hot iron rods
My daughter has never been in trouble. Not even a traffic offence. But I’m really disturb at the idiotic comments from people who probably did something unlawful in the youth, but were lucky not to have been caught. Its the teenagers first offence, probably out of character, has paid restitution and his parents are distraught but willing to straighten his hide out.
If you know for certain that restitution has taken place, then maybe you have a valid argument.
Otherwise you’re stuck making strange assumptions about the nature of people who’ve so far condemned the activity of theft and the lack of a suitable punishment.
As a family member of him let me say you nailed it! This was totally out of character for him and he has definitely learned his lesson. He has very supportive parents who definitely did straighten him out.They also supported him by standing by him in court.Bermuda will not have to worry about him ever committing a offense like this ever again or any offense for that matter. All these people on here talking trash like they weren’t teenagers in the past and didn’t do something stupid that they regret. I’m not condoning what he did it was definitely WRONG an I have been a victim of bike theft twice so I know how the victim feels. Second chances are around for a reason and he got another chance this was his first and will be his ONLY offence. As far as restitution none of you know what has transpired between him and the victim. Furthermore the judge knew what he was doing in sentencing,he IS the judge, not all of you on here. f you feel so strongly about offenders getting slaps on the wrist instead of sitting on Bernews complaining about it why don’t you educate yourselves and become a judge and make a difference instead of bashing them on Bernews!
to family member -
no need to take umbrage with what you are reading; it is fair game. let’s not sidestep the topic: a young man found guilty of stealing a bike. the reported consequences seemed inadequate. end of story. comments are welcomed on Bernews.
Not once did i say comments were not welcomed and yes its fair game that is why I didn’t personally attack anyone. You sound so hypocritical but yes carry on cause i’m not allowed to state my opinion as a family member. Clearly you read but didn’t digest everything I said. I forgot your not supposed to disagree on here or state facts only propaganda is allowed.
If you look up & down the issue is not so much this case in particular but how courts deal with cases of theft in general.
If your family member has learned a lesson & compensation has been paid to the victim without the victim having to go through court to get it, then great. That is the way it should happen.
The beef with everyone is how lightly the courts treat such cases & how little effort on the part of the BPS is made to chase down & prosecute offenders.
It is “Oh well, insurance will pay for it”. The insurance companies simply up the premiums to cover the thefts. Bottom line…guess who pays?
” how little effort on the part of the BPS is made to chase down & prosecute offenders.”
THIS
and how LITTLE EFFORT is actually used to track down the stolen bike. Still waiting 10 years to find my old bike smfh! Thanks for NOTHING!
@smh, oh boo hoo!!!! I was a reserve police officer in the 1980′s for seven years, I can’t count the amount of people I witnessed being arrested that fought, kicking and screaming threats at the police officers when they were still outside the police station. Once inside and locked in Hamilton police station cells would start crying and calling out for their mommies??? The punishment was not enough, end of story!!!! Also, I was a teenager from 1975 until I became an adult, and I NEVER stole a bike or anything for that matter!!! I worked after school from the age of 14 to save up for my mobylette because my parents could not afford to buy me one, and this may be a shocker??? I have had a few bikes stolen from me over the years and it sucks!!! I was lucky enough once to get one back after a week of it stolen!!! I saw the guy riding on it on Reid Street, I jumped straight out at him and took him off the bike while he was riding it, and beleive me I served my own Justice on his BEHIND right there on the streets of Hamilton!!! I am sure to this day if he is still alive, he remembers me!!! And that was in 1979!!!!
He stole a motorbike and got let off. I don’t know of anybody who has done something like that and got a conditional discharge. It strikes me as being extremely lenient.
I agree that jail is not always the answer; however crimes should not go unpunished. Community service should have been required as well as limited social hours (must be home from 9pm – 6am). He should also be made to pay the costs incurred to the person he stole the bike from and a written apology.
Probably of the oba race
. You never get full value from the insurance co. Even if it was brand new. I had my bike 3 months and it got stolen. I had to pay $1500 out of my own pocket after I got money back from insurance for the same bike I had.
So the kid gets nothing for punishment and the law abiding people have to pay.
Bermuda law is a JOKE!!!