A man who broke into an elderly couple’s home, tied them to chairs and robbed them at gunpoint of tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of cash and jewellery, was set free by the Grand Court after giving evidence against his fellow defendants.
Appearing before Justice Roger Chapple on Tuesday, 30 Nov., Cain Thomas sat in silence as the judgment was handed down.
Thomas, 20, together with Elmer Wright, 28, and Shane Connor, 45, were charged with attempted burglary, theft of a motor vehicle, aggravated burglary, robbery, and possession of a magazine of ammunition. The charges stem from a 17 June 2017 crime spree that began in West Bay, ended in Prospect and lasted several hours.
Thomas, who had initially denied the charges, entered an 11th-hour guilty plea and went on to give evidence against Wright and Connor in two separate trials. His evidence was instrumental in the conviction of both men.
When imposing his sentence, Chapple stressed that it would be one that reflects how serious the courts “value and reward” defendants who assist by way of giving evidence, especially in high-profile cases.
“You’ve given evidence twice against dangerous and professional criminals,” Chapple told Thomas. “These islands are a safer place because of the evidence, and it is important that these courts recognise that.”
Because of his evidence, Chapple gave Thomas a full two-thirds discount on the initial sentence.
Based on that discount, Chapple sentenced Thomas to six months in prison for the theft of the car; nine months for the attempted burglary; nine months for damage to property (during the attempted burglary); nine months for the firearm (ammunition); one year and nine months for the aggravated burglary; one year and nine months for the robbery, and one year for possession of the magazine of ammunition.
The aggravated burglary and robbery charges were ordered to run consecutively to each other, and concurrently to all other charges, leaving Thomas with a sentence of three years and six months. That sentence was further discounted by one-third to reflect Thomas’s guilty plea, leaving a final sentence of just under two-and-a-half years in prison.
Chapple then gave Thomas credit for the time spent in prison prior to the trial, as well as the time spent on an electronic monitor and curfew.
“You have already served more than the total amount of the sentence I have imposed,” said Chapple. “Therefore, my order is that you are to be released. If there are any outstanding warrants for your arrest, they are to be brought to me for consideration first; and no steps are to be taken to incarcerate you.”
Wright is currently serving a double life sentence in a UK maximum security prison for the home invasion as well as a conviction for 112 rounds of ammunition. Connor has yet to be sentenced.
A fourth man, Nikel Thomas, Cain’s older brother, who served as the lookout during the crime spree, was sentenced to community service.
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