Jensen LaVende
Trinidad Express
Thursday, November 12th 2009
A SPECIAL Reserve police officer (SRP) was fined $1,000 and ordered to pay $1,800 in compensation yesterday, after she pled guilty to stealing a cellular phone from a colleague.
Jenelle Winchester, 23, of Lamby Road, Argyle, Tobago, who has four years’ service as an SRP, was arrested at the Police Academy on Monday.
Winchester’s arrest came after Tracy Hernandez, a police trainee, complained that her Motorola cellphone went missing on October 29 at the academy. Winchester was arrested by Cpl Jitindra Toolaram, of the St Clair Police Station, and was granted $25,000 bail at the station on Tuesday night.
Winchester pled guilty to stealing the phone and was represented by defence attorney Patrick Godson-Phillips, who submitted that his client had strayed away from the good moral values she grew up in, causing embarrassment to both herself and her parents.
In her ruling, Magistrate Avason Quinlan said it was ’appropriate’ that Winchester’s behaviour was detected before she became a police officer. She added that the public was spared a person whose character could have deflated the morale of the police force.
Winchester was given one month to pay the fine or will face six months in prison, and one month to pay the compensation or face six weeks’ jail time.
