A man and a woman who broke Cayman’s COVID-19 quarantine regulations, by eating lunch too closely together, while the man was quarantining at his home, have both received suspended prison sentences.
When handing down her ruling on Friday 26 Aug., Magistrate Angelyn Hernandez, stated this was a clear breach of the regulations which lasted for 15 minutes.
On 24 Aug., the government relaxed its remaining COVID-19 travel regulations, however, at the time of the breach in question, the rules carried a potential penalty of up to $10,000 and/or imprisonment for two years, if convicted.
The defendants, Craig Wilson Author and Leslie Esmera Bodden Lucas, each pleaded guilty to a single count of failing to comply with COVID-19 regulations.
According to court documents, Author and Bodden Lucas were a couple, and she brought him lunch on 27 Aug. 2021, while he was in mandatory quarantine after having recently returned to Cayman.
“She then returned to her vehicle to retrieve hers and proceeded to sit on the other side of the porch to have her lunch,” reads a police report attached to the court documents. The documents state the Bodden Lucas was approximately 20 feet away from Author and spent 15 minutes at the location.
When Public Health officials visited the location, they observed that Lucas Bodden was not wearing a mask.
The couple, represented by attorney James Stenning, argued that a fine was a more appropriate way of disposing of the breach.
His argument was rejected by Hernandez, who imposed a one month prison sentence, and suspended it for two years.
No financial penalty was imposed.
Related Videos
