The Tribune

By FARRAH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A 48-year-old man who told officers he was outside during curfew hours because he was heading home after visiting his sweetheart was fined $300 yesterday.

Police arrested Charles Narcisse after they found him on Balfour Avenue around 11.55pm.

According to the prosecution, officers on mobile patrol observed a male walking on the street. When they approached and questioned him, he said he was coming from his sweetheart's house, the court was told.

At the time, Narcisse also told the officers he was aware of the 10pm-5am curfew and indicated he had not contacted the COVID-19 hotline to get permission to leave his residence. As a result, he was arrested. In an interview with police, Narcisse said he was coming from his friend's house and was heading home.

After pleading guilty to violating the curfew, Narcisee told Senior Magistrate Derence Rolle-Davis he went out after 8pm and sat down "making jokes with his friends". He said by the time he realised what time it was, he told himself "My God I get catch" and shortly after, he was arrested for breaking the curfew. Narcisse insisted the incident was the "first time" something of this nature had happened to him.

Yesterday, five other men appeared in court for curfew infractions.

Carrington Knowles, 46, was charged after officers found him on Wulff Road around 11.15pm on August 27. He pleaded guilty during a hearing before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes and was fined $350 or two months behind bars.

The court was told at the time of his arrest, Knowles told officers he was heading to his boss to get some food. When given an opportunity to speak yesterday, the defendant also told the magistrate his boss had a birthday party.

In response, Magistrate Forbes said he expected Knowles to understand the importance of adhering to the emergency protocols and told him his "carelessness and recklessness would cost him".

Meanwhile, officers arrested Weldon Cher Frere, 18, Shawn McDonald, 18, Donnavan Milfort, 19, and Patreco Culmer, 18, on Flamingo Drive around 8.25pm on July 29.

The court heard officers on mobile patrol observed the teenagers sitting on a vacant lot around a fire. When they questioned the defendants, the boys told them they were just "chilling". They were subsequently arrested. During their interview with police, the prosecution said Culmer said he was outdoors because he went to get some food, while Milfort claimed his mother had cooked for him and his friends and they went there to wait for it. The court was told the other two defendants declined to comment when questioned.

During the hearing, all of the defendants admitted to breaching the curfew. After accepting their guilty pleas, Magistrate Forbes discharged them with a warning.