Cabbie sentenced for stealing FLOW wires

Senior Parish Judge Lori-Anne Cole-Montaque sentenced a taxi operator to six months’ imprisonment at hard labour for stealing the fibre-optic wires belonging to communications company FLOW.

“It is very aggravating the consequences on John Public on a whole. The public suffers, the average person suffers, the student suffers and the court must take this into consideration,” the senior jurist said.

Dalkeith Facey pleaded guilty to simple larceny and malicious destruction of property. It was shared in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court that on July 29, 2023, at 4:36 a.m., police emergency received information regarding men stealing wires on Hope Boulevard in St Andrew. Reports state that upon the arrival of the police, they saw two men putting copper cable wires into the trunk of a Toyota Probox, one of whom was the defendant. The police approached the men and one of them ran. Facey went into his vehicle and sped away, but later collided into a wall along Waterworks. He was later apprehended. The wires found in his vehicle are said to value $12,865,000.

“On that day, I was forced to carry some individuals not wires,” Facey explained on his first occasion, stating that he was struggling financially and accepted a charter of $15,000 to pick up the men.

“I am not acquainted with those individuals. I run taxi,” he shared, adding that a friend called him and said “Me wah yuh drop three person right yah suh fi me”.

“We live in a cyber age where we use the fibre-optic cables is important in our lives. The stealing of FLOW wires causes hardship in our lives and because it happened so often, the message must be sent to any other person who thinks to steal them,” Cole-Montaque said, before indicating the minimum three-year sentence.

However, she added that the sentence would be reduced by half due to Facey’s guilty plea. She reduced another five months because of time he spent in custody, an additional six months as Facey has no previous conviction, as well as another month for his assumed good social background.

In addition to the six months for simple larceny, Facey was also sentenced to three months’ imprisonment at hard labour for malicious destruction of property. The sentences will run concurrently. – T.T.