Man Admits Stealing Diapers, Mango, Pastries

August 5, 2014

Appearing in Magistrates Court this morning [Aug 5], a 29 year old man pleaded guilty to stealing two packs of diapers, a pack of dried mango, a newspaper, and two puff pastries, all valued at $57.84 and belonging to the Marketplace.

Jeron Marcus Douglas admitted the offence, which happened on 16th July 2014 at the Church Street, Hamilton, Marketplace store.

Crown Prosecutor Nicole Smith told Senior Magistrate Archie Warner that a store manager had observed Mr. Douglas’s actions, had followed him down the elevator to the basement, accosted him there, and had subsequently called police. Ms Smith told the Magistrate that Douglas had admitted the offence to police.

Speaking for himself, Mr. Douglas told the Magistrate that he was embarrassed. He also said that he wasn’t working, did not qualify for financial assistance and said that he was the father of two children, and that at the time, his girlfriend said that the youngest child needed diapers.

Mr Douglas told the Magistrate that he had been doing so well after he had received help through a previous BARC [Bermuda Assessment and Referral Centre] program and that he felt that he needed more help.

The Magistrate ordered a new Social Inquiry Report, and BARC report; adjourned the matter to September, and granted Mr Douglas bail of $1,000.

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Comments (28)

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  1. Pondering says:

    I think the biggest crime here is that some diapers, dried mango, a newspaper and some pastries are priced to add up to almost $60. No excuse for his crime, but no wonder some in our community find the need to steal.

    • David says:

      The question is, how “many” diapers did he take? I have a baby, and its adds up :)

    • Terry says:

      If no excuse, why condone it.

      Are Bermudians that far behind or is it relative to how one feels with regard to world events,

    • Kunta says:

      How do you make bail for $1,000 and you don’t have $57.84 ???????????????????????

  2. wow says:

    When i have kids they going to be wearing the old school diapers that you wash and reuse. No way i am spending $60 on somthing that is thrown away after one use.

    • Yahoo says:

      Good luck with that. See how long you will clean those diapers after your baby unloads a few times… what can come out of a baby is unreal!

    • The Skink says:

      Well, when you get a child you will quickly change your mind. With the frequency of the feeding and subsequent discharge of digested mother’s milk or formula, you will quickly surrender that $60.00. I am speaking from personal experience.

      • The Skink says:

        Having a newborn is an experience like no other!!! Your mental state along with sleep will be more important to you.

      • Ride says:

        It has been my experience that exclusively breast fed babies have zero solid discharge. It’s just the tinkle. Exclusively breast feed for as long as possible. Saves you a ton in formula and will be almost no mess with the cloth diapers (saving you more money).

        However, you’ll likely quickly switch to disposable diapers once you put baby on formula or solids. It gets notably unpleasant then.

        Ride

    • Time Shall Tell says:

      Time is something that becomes VERY precious when you have a newborn & once you factor the added time required to keep a fresh supply of those cloth diapers on top of the other tasks of raising & taking care of a baby, daily chores, a job, other social/family obligations and ones desire for some sanity time you’ll then understand. Not to mention the high cost of electricity to have to wash every day then factor in the cost of water, the cost of cleaning detergent, etc.

  3. Terry says:

    So he received help from BARC.
    He chose to steal.
    Girlfriends

    Whats he do for a living.

  4. duh says:

    No excuses for these prices! Tariffs need to be lowered! No more 300% profits either

    • Common cent$ says:

      300% profits?? You’re confusing the grocery industry with the clothing industry- cost on a $19 dollar package is around $15+- before labor and the cost of doing business here- the store profits maybe a $1 off of a package if it doesn’t get stolen.

  5. Tricks are For Kids says:

    Not condoning what he did…

    If I were rich I would help,as many people as I could…….clearly there are people in dire need…….Times are hard…..If we want to march for anything it should be over the inflated prices of groceries……

    • second says:

      No disrespect but that is why you’ll never be rich. Bermuda needs more like you@

  6. somuchless says:

    Well I guess he needed a snack. Had to get a mango while he was at it. Lol

  7. Raymond Ray says:

    Had he stole ONLY diapers then maybe he deserves a break. But no, he went shopping!Some form of community services should be handed out to this individual as oppose to a possible custodial sentence?
    As for BARC tighten up on the reins. Why isn’t this individual not eligible for financial assistance if he has 2 children? And yes, as mentioned by “WOW” at 4:30pm at those prices and having no money for diapers then maybe he / they need to revert to the old cloth diaper :-(

    • PBanks says:

      I don’t think a newspaper (which has classifieds) and a pair of snack items constitutes “shopping”. It’s not like he tried to nick a bottle of liquor and a Christmas ham.

      Community service should indeed be an option vs serving jail time, in this situation. And since he’s unemployed, a fine wouldn’t be nice either. Maybe the right community service options can be parlayed into getting him something paid down the line so he can support his children.

  8. pressing the flush says:

    iffa ya cant afford diapers,use washable nappies like Momma did to ya rear end,failing that,keep your legs closed and ya panties on!

  9. becky says:

    some of the fruits in stores have mold, and yet those prices are still high.

  10. Keepin' it Real!...4Real! says:

    don’t worry….be alot more of dat coming, watch.

  11. Cordell W. Riley says:

    I’m sure that the report will find him to be a decent young man, that he has a career ahead of him, he will show remorse, offer to do community service and be given a conditional discharge. We wouldn’t want to damage his career, after all!

  12. StillThatBS says:

    So the article ABOVE this one is of someone getting a $1000 and 2 travel vouchers which were sponsored by Bermuda Health Care Service…But this is of a man who is arrested because he could not afford diaper’s for his baby…Perhaps the BHCS can sponsor some diaper’s for needy parents instead.

    Stealing is wrong and all but…come on! When people get desperate there is no telling what they will do. If Government put in place a social system which helps its people, we would not be reading about stuff like this.

    Someone has to make a change.

    Also, Bermuda your ‘priorities’ are really pissy.

    Just a thought…..

  13. Whistling Frog says:

    It’s not easy. But I have to add, seek and you will find, Prayer answers all things… I hope the judge understands and allows him a conditional discharge.

    • Ride says:

      I don’t see how praying will help. Well, beyond making you feel like you’ve done something to effect change when you’ve actually done absolutely nothing. This fellow needs tangible assistance.

      Ride

  14. Time Shall Tell says:

    “No man can be a good citizen unless he has a wage more then sufficient to cover the bare cost of living, and hours of labor short enough so after his days work is done he will have time and energy to bare his share in the management of the community to help in carrying the general load.” The words of Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt.

  15. smh says:

    This is jus the start of wat is to come rich will get rich poor will get poorer do wat u gotta do cause goverment don’t help by any means necessary

  16. smh says:

    Nutin to b embarred about the government should b embarred that in a rich island things like this take place