An unqualified, uninsured teenager pleaded guilty Friday to dangerous driving after an incident at The Strand shopping center on Dec. 28 left five cars damaged.
Devante Wayne Brown, 17, also admitted taking a conveyance without authority, driving without being qualified, driving without insurance, leaving the scene of an accident and breach of probation.
“This court would be derelict in its duty if it did not impose a term of immediate custody,” Magistrate Grace Donalds said. She sentenced Brown to six months’ imprisonment on each charge to run concurrently.
She noted that the probation order had been imposed on Dec. 17 and it included a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew. “The court sought to give you an opportunity to turn your life around,” she pointed out.
Brown’s family had arranged for his acceptance at the Canaan Land school in Alabama, USA, for a 12-month Bible-oriented program, which he was to start on Jan. 8. “The court was concerned and wanted to be sure you would be confined to your home until your departure,” the magistrate told Brown.
Instead, Brown left his home on at least two occasions as outlined by Crown Counsel Kenneth Ferguson. Both occasions – Dec. 23 and 28 – were documented by means of the electronic monitoring device the court had ordered Brown to wear.
Mr. Ferguson said the incident began when witnesses saw two people in a truck arguing at The Strand. The two males came out of the truck, fell on the ground and continued fighting. After a bystander separated them, one ran away and the other got back into the truck.
As the truck moved off, it hit a Mercedes-Benz and then a Suzuki. The truck then hit a Mazda, forcing it into a Kia. As the driver continued to exit the lot, he collided with a Toyota while it was being parked.
Police went to the scene and collected witness statements. One person handed them a cellphone recovered from where the men had been fighting. Meanwhile, a woman reported the theft of her Toyota Tacoma, which had been parked in her yard, around 11 p.m.
Some time after 1 a.m. on Dec. 28, police officers saw a truck matching the description of the stolen vehicle being driven toward George Town on the Esterley Tibbetts Highway. They attempted to stop it by flashing their lights and using the siren, but the driver did not stop.
Another officer positioned his car farther down the road. The truck continued toward him and the officer had to accelerate heavily to get out of the way. He then followed the truck through the Butterfield roundabout, onto Eastern Avenue, and then to Trinity Square.
There the driver jumped out and ran toward Shedden Road; the collided with a fence. Police chased the driver, but he eluded them.
Officers traced Brown through the cellphone. When they went to his home and told him of the allegations, he said he was ready to go.
The magistrate asked if the damages to the vehicle had been quantified. “Not as yet,” Mr. Ferguson replied.
Defense attorney John Furniss described Brown as “a man of straw” because he had no insurance and no assets that could be used to compensate his victims. “That is something for which civil action can be taken,” he pointed out. He said Brown would have to get work and be responsible for what he had done because the vehicle owners would take action against him or else their insurance companies would.
“The hope still remains that if [Brown] stays at Canaan Land for that 12-month period, there can be that intervention into his pattern of behavior so that at the conclusion of 12 months he can either return to Cayman and be a productive citizen rather than a nuisance or he can remain in the U.S,” Brown’s attorney said.
Mr. Furniss spoke of the U.S. option after advising the court that Brown has U.S. citizenship through his father.
He noted that the Dec. 17 sentence for handling stolen goods included probation for two years, so Brown would have to come back to Cayman after Canaan Land. He suggested that the court could sentence Brown in a way that would enable him to avail himself of that opportunity. Otherwise, imprisonment here would mean no prospect of making compensation.
The magistrate agreed that she was not able to order compensation under the circumstances. In addition to the prison term, she disqualified Brown from holding or obtaining a driver’s license for one year, which is the maximum in Summary Court.
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