Man jailed for stealing from church

The seriousness and prevalence of sacrilege has resulted in a man being sentenced to five years in prison with hard labour. The sentence was yesterday handed down to Wayne Thomas by Madame Justice Alice Yorke Soo-Hon in the Port-of-Spain Third Criminal Court. Thomas pleaded guilty to a charge of sacrilege on May 17 last. In handing down the sentence, Soo-Hon said she had considered the fact that the father of four had pleaded guilty and not wasted the court’s time. In addition, she said, the stolen items had been speedily recovered and the accused had reportedly had a spiritual awakening while in prison. 

However, the judge said that the prevalence and serious nature of the crime had been the cause of churches being “locked up tight.” She said the church could not now trust members of society, even with things belonging to God and it was the duty of the court to restore that trust. She said she was glad that he had “found God” because the crime he had committed required “much repentance.” The 46-year-old man admitted to stealing several pieces of audio equipment from the Armalaya Presbyterian Church at Cochrane Street in Tunapuna on August 19, 2001. 

While walking along the Eastern Main Road in Tunapuna with the items in a box, he was stopped by PC Ronald Williams, who was on mobile patrol in the area. He was taken to the Tunapuna Police Station, where enquiries revealed that the items had been stolen from the church. Thomas was subsequently  charged. The items were later identified by the church’s sextant George Rampersad and vice president Carlon Lackhan. Thomas, who had been unable to secure bail, had been incarcerated since August 19, 2001. State attorneys Jennifer Martin and Alexander Prince prosecuted. Thomas was represented by attorney Ulric Skerritt.