The Tribune

By FARRAH JOHNSON

fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A WOMAN who claimed she violated the lockdown because she was trying to get home to be with her sick son was fined $525 yesterday.

She and three others appeared before Senior Magistrate Derence Rolle-Davis for lockdown and curfew infractions.

Is’lane Delva, 35, was charged after officers found her on Moonshine Drive around 7pm on April 5.

According to prosecutor Kendrick Bauld, on the night in question, officers on motorcycle patrol observed a silver Nissan Note travelling west on Moonshine Drive. The officers beckoned for the vehicle to stop and asked the driver, who identified herself as Is’lane Delva, to exit the vehicle. When questioned, Sgt Bauld said Delva did not give the officers a “legitimate” reason to justify her being outside of her home that night. As a result, she was taken to a nearby station where she admitted the offence.

During the hearing, Delva told the magistrate she was only outdoors because she was “heading home to deal with her seven-year-old son”. Delva said she was staying at a friend’s house that weekend and had left her son home with her mother. She said her son called her and told her he was feeling bad and was experiencing “shortness of breath,” so she left her friend’s house to go home.

She pleaded guilty to the offence and was given a $500 fine or two months in prison. She was also fined an additional $25 for failing to appear at court for her original arraignment date, which was scheduled for May 6.

Meanwhile, a 15-year-old boy was also charged after officers found him on Ida Street around 11.15am on May 3. He also pleaded guilty and was fined $500 or two months in prison. Sgt Bauld said at the time of his arrest, the juvenile told the police he was outside because he had “come by his boy to chill”.

However, when given an opportunity to speak, the defendant told the magistrate he was outdoors because his family had run out of gas and his mother had sent him to a store around the corner to buy some. He claimed he was “talking to his brethren” while waiting for the gas tank to be filled when the police approached and questioned him.

Raymond Rolle, 35, was charged after officers found him at Arawak Cay around 1.30am on May 6. He was also charged with breaking the bottom portion of the entrance door of Joey’s Restaurant and causing $535.25 worth of damage.

During the hearing, Rolle was incoherent and refused to listen to the correctional officers or respond when the magistrate called him. As a result, Magistrate Rolle-Davis adjourned the matter to July 6 and remanded Rolle to prison, where he will undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

Officers found Percwell Rolle, 29, on Fritz Lane around 2.30am on May 6. He pleaded guilty to violating the national curfew and was fined $800 or two months at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services (BDCS).