The Tribune

By FARRAH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A CAR salesman who took money from a woman without giving her the vehicle she had purchased was fined $1,000 and ordered to pay back the stolen money.

Police arrested Steven Major, Jr, after a woman paid him $1,500 for a car she never received.

He pleaded guilty to one count of stealing by reason of service when he appeared before Senior Magistrate Derence Rolle Davis.

The court was told that the woman paid Major Jr the money sometime in September 2020 to purchase a Toyota vehicle. She told officers at the Financial Crime Investigation Unit that after she paid the accused $1,500 in cash, she never received the car or her money back. After she filed her report, officers investigating her complaint arrested Major Jr. When he was questioned in police custody, he said he was the operator of a car spot. He also admitted accepting the money from the complainant without completing the transaction. He was subsequently charged.

Yesterday, Major Jr was represented by attorney Keith Seymour. He told the magistrate his client had no previous convictions and saved the court precious judicial time with his early guilty plea. Mr Seymour also said the accused was willing to compensate the woman for his dishonesty.

As a result, Magistrate Rolle Davis fined him $1,000 for the offence. He also ordered him to compensate the complainant $1,500. He warned Major Jr if he failed to do so, he would be sentenced to three months in prison.