The Tribune

By FARRAH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A 21-year-old woman who filed a false police report accusing a man of assaulting her with a shotgun to steal her cellphone was fined $150.

Malanda Payoute appeared before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes after she was accused of making a false report at the Criminal Investigation Department on October 1.

The court was told that around 7pm, Payoute went to the CID to report that a man known to her as “Yellow” produced a shotgun and stole her $150 iPhone. The prosecution said two days later, the defendant returned to the station to admit that she fabricated her initial report. This time, she told officers that “Yellow” never had a shotgun. As a result of her confession, Payoute was arrested. In an interview with police, she told officers that Yellow had never put a shotgun to her head. She said she lied because she wanted fast results and compensation.

When given an opportunity to speak during the hearing, Payoute told the magistrate she had bought an iPhone 6 plus from Yellow that was not working. She claimed when she asked him for her money back, he was not cooperative. She added another man brought Yellow to her house so she went outside to show him the faulty phone. She said when she spoke to Yellow that evening, they got into a “little fuss” and sometime later, she noticed $105 was missing from her purse.

In response, Magistrate Forbes told the defendant she should have given the police the explanation she gave the court. As a result, he accepted her guilty plea and fined her $150 or one month at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.