Man jailed 120 days for squatting in St James home for sale

Everett Nigel Worrell, 54, occupied a vacant St James property and threatened his former roommate. He received concurrent sentences totalling 120 days.

Homeless man sentenced after breaking into vacant St James property

A 54-year-old man of no fixed place of abode has been sent to prison after breaking into an empty house in St James and taking up residence there. Barbados Today reports that Everett Nigel Worrell was sentenced to 120 days in prison for trespassing, after entering the vacant, for-sale property on July 11.

Worrell also pleaded guilty to damaging the locks on one of the doors on the same date and to using threatening words towards a former roommate, Mark Griffith, on June 15. The threatening words charge and the criminal damage charge each carried a sentence of 30 days. Acting Magistrate Shakieda Sealy ordered all sentences to run concurrently.

Caretaker alerted, police called

PC Cindy Greaves told the No. 2 District 'A' Magistrates' Court that the caretaker of the property had been notified that a man was living inside the otherwise unoccupied house. When the caretaker and a carpenter attended the property to investigate, they found Worrell living there. The damaged door locks were replaced during that visit.

Following the caretaker's report to police, Worrell was arrested.

Earlier dispute with roommate

In the June 15 matter, the court heard that Worrell and Griffith had shared a residence for approximately one year before the incident. On the day in question, Griffith arrived home to find Worrell's dog blocking the entrance to the property. He asked Worrell to move the animal; Worrell complied but placed the dog directly in front of Griffith's bedroom door instead.

Griffith shouted at the dog and it moved. He changed his clothes and left the property. When he returned later that night, he discovered his bed was wet and went outside to speak to the caretaker about the situation.

While Griffith was outside, Worrell shouted at him and issued a threat: "I gine kill you, ya **." Fearing for his safety, Griffith left the residence.

Sentences run concurrently

Acting Magistrate Sealy imposed the 120-day custodial sentence for the trespass conviction, with the 30-day terms for the threatening words and criminal damage offences running alongside it. Worrell, who has no fixed address, will serve a total of 120 days in custody.

Source: Barbados Today