By FARRAH JOHNSON
Tribune Staff Reporter
fjohnson@tribunemedia.net
A HAITIAN man and woman who admitted travelling to the country illegally must each pay $300 to avoid spending a year in prison prior to their deportation.
Nicholas Petithomme, 43, and Cassandra Felix, 32, were arrested after they could not prove their legal status when they were approached and questioned by officers in Treasure Cay, Abaco on April 8.
The court heard that day, a team of immigration officers along with members from the Royal Bahamas Police and Defence Forces, were conducting exercises in The Farm shanty town when they came across the accused and questioned them in regard to their legal status. The prosecution said both Petithomme and Felix failed to give a satisfactory answer when they were approached. As a result, they were cautioned and arrested. The court was told when checks of the immigration system were made, it was revealed there was no record of either one of them entering the country through legal means. They were subsequently charged.
During their hearing before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes yesterday, both Petithomme and Felix pleaded guilty to illegal landing.
After accepting their guilty pleas, the magistrate convicted them of the offence and fined them each $300 or 12 months behind bars.
He said once the fines were paid or the sentences had been completed, they would be turned over to the Department of Immigration for deportation.
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