Court: Man Defies MarketPlace Ban
A 35-year-old homeless man walked free from Magistrates Court yesterday [Dec.21] after pleading guilty to entering the MarketPlace grounds in Somerset after receiving a written notice to stay off the property. He had spent over two months in custody prior to his Court appearance.
After first being charged on 5th October 2011 and having been kept on remand since then, Cannoth Roberts came back to Court yesterday, and changed his plea to guilty,
After hearing all the evidence, and being told that the maximum sentence for breaching the order was six months in prison or a fine of up to $2,000 – or both such punishments; the Magistrate ruled that Mr Roberts had committed a technical breach of an order and had been in custody for two months and two weeks which was far in excess of any sentence that would have been incurred by that kind of technical offence.
Mr Roberts admitted to being aware of the order, and also that he was in the parking lot of the Somerset Marketplace on 4th October 2011, and was only passing through on his way to another place.
He said that he was seen by the Manager who told him to get off the supermarket’s property. Police were called, and shortly after, Mr Roberts was arrested near the old Simmons Ice Cream factory.
The Senior Magistrate made his ruling and Mr Roberts, who is no fixed abode, was eligible for release on the same day. The Magistrate told Mr Roberts that he must, “Stay away from the people’s property.”
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