The bulletproof vest allgedly seized from Sea Lots resident Nadine Phillip.
Photo: Indarjit Seuraj
Source: Trinidad Guardian 100107
BY INDARJIT SEURAJ
A Sea Lots mother has been sentenced to one year in jail with hard labour after she was found guilty of having a bulletproof vest inside her baby’s stroller.
As he passed sentence yesterday, Magistrate Adrian Darmanie said while he acknowledged the accused was not involved in anything illegal, she was keeping the vest for a friend or relative.
“Unfortunately, the company she keeps brought her down,” Darmanie said, before passing sentence on 21-year-old Nadine Phillip.
Phillip, of Production Drive, had pleaded not guilty to the charge but was convicted after a speedy trial Tuesday.
Acting Sgt Ingrid Charles-James prosecuted.
Phillip broke down in tears on news of the sentence.
According to the facts of the trial, the vest had been hidden under her baby in a stroller when Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) officers conducted raids at Production Drive in Sea Lots, last Friday.
Earlier yesterday, attorney Gordon Lamming had asked that a non-custodial sentence be imposed on his client as she had recently given birth.
Lamming argued that the child needed his mother, especially for the baby’s nutrition.
In light of the mitigating factors, Darmanie did not impose the two-year maximum sentence.
Acting Sgt Andy Farrell of the IATF charged the accused.
This is what you get for protecting criminals. They shouldn't have felt sorry for her. Punish her to the full extent of the law. It's people like her that have the country in the state it is in today. Make an example out of her and take custody of the child too! She was aiding and abetting a criminal.
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