Source Today Newspaper
GREAT BAY – The Court in First Instance sentenced Elroy Nathaniel Junior Morris yesterday to 100 hours of community service for scamming Napa. On April 26 of last year, Morris picked up an air compressor and a high pressure cleaner from Napa for Garage de L’Etoile in St. Barths. He gave the company’s account number and signed off on the goods, worth $1,225. But when the garage received the invoice, the company said it had never ordered the equipment.
Morris told the court that he had picked up the equipment at the request of Jason H., an employee at Napa. He had taken the goods home and then put them up for sale on Facebook. According to Morris, he did this at Jason’s request.
An investigation quickly led to the Facebook-page where the goods were offered and to the defendant. When investigators interviewed Jason, he said he did not know anything about the whole affair.
The defendant’s father has in the meantime paid the purchase price to Napa in an attempt to keep his son out of trouble.
“He does not deny that he picked up the equipment,” the prosecutor told the court. He also put them up for sale and he comes here with a highly improbable story.” The public prosecutor demanded 100 hours of community service.
Attorney Safira Ibrahim noted that Jason had access to client account numbers at Napa, but her client did not. “It is remarkable that Jason is not on trial here,” she said and asked the court to acquit Morris.
The judge said that the defendant’s statements are contradictory, insufficiently substantiated and extremely implausible. ‘I go with the contents of the complaint,” the judge said. “It is quite annoying that you stick to telling stories and that you are not taking any responsibility.”
As a first offender, Morris would have gotten off the hook with a suspended sentence, but because he did not take responsibility, the court sentenced him to 100 hours of community service, to be replaced with 50 days in prison if he does not do it.
