Beers valued at $90 stolen after burglars caused $4,000 damage
A West Bay man with an extensive history of convictions was sentenced on Thursday to two years’ imprisonment for two burglaries at the Cobalt Coast Resort in West Bay.
Records showed these were the fourth and fifth burglaries committed by James Blair Ebanks at the open-air bar area of the resort. Ebanks, 49, pleaded guilty soon after the last two offenses and was on bail pending sentence.
Defense attorney John Furniss said Ebanks’s record of previous convictions, described as mostly theft, burglary and drugs, was admitted. “Unfortunately, in recent years, it has been Cobalt Coast that has been the scene of his offending.”
Mr. Furniss noted that the bar area was monitored by CCTV cameras and Ebanks apparently knew it. “On each and every time, he may have been creating a situation where he is asking for help,” the attorney suggested. Crown counsel Candia James summarized the last two burglaries for Magistrate Grace Donalds.
On the night of July 17, 2012, Ebanks went to the restricted area of the bar. CCTV footage of the scene showed him entering with a T-shirt covering his face, but then he pulled it back down to fit normally. He was challenged by a staff member and said he was getting ice. He had a 5-gallon bucket. He then proceeded to take beers and sodas valued at $129.
The complainant tried to stop him and there was a confrontation, but he got away. Police viewed the CCTV and interviewed Ebanks, who admitted the offense.
He was released from custody on Oct. 2, 2012, and was on bail when the next burglary occurred. On Oct. 16, resort staff found that someone had gone to the bar area and forced open the fridge. There was a large metal plate over the fridge door and it had three locks. CCTV showed two males spending an hour forcing the fridge door open.
Ms. James said the damage was irreparable and the unit would cost $4,000 to $5,000 to replace.
The intruders were Ebanks and his cousin.
Mr. Furniss advised the court that the cousin was sentenced to 28 months for this burglary, plus further time for other offenses.
For Ebanks, the attorney urged a suspended sentence. He pointed out that the defendant had applied to the Drug Rehabilitation Court and was subject to that regime when the last burglary occurred.
“Everyone was concerned. They wanted to get to the root of the problem … Efforts were again made to put him finally back on track … Probation [officers] asked for time to monitor him,” Mr. Furniss detailed.
Ebanks lived for a while at a halfway house and then with a relative whose strict rules he had complied with. Since May, he had a consistent record of attending AA meetings, Mr. Furniss said.
He accepted that there would have to be some consistency with the sentence given to Ebanks’s cousin, but suggested that a suspended sentence would permit Ebanks to continue his recovery: “He knows what will happen if he relapses.”
The magistrate imposed two years’ imprisonment for the two burglaries. She suspended six months of that term and said Ebanks would be under the supervision of the Department of Community Rehabilitation during the period of suspension, would attend counseling and be prohibited from entering any liquor-licensed premises.
Mr. Furniss asked that Ebanks be given credit for the several times spent in custody since the burglaries and the magistrate agreed.
Ebanks also had charges for consuming ganja, consuming cocaine and criminal trespass. For each of these, his sentence was six months, to run concurrently.
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