St Michael man ordered to pay $250 for rings stolen from friend and pawned

Ahkel Ryan Harewood, 23, pleaded guilty to stealing four rings worth $2,700 from a friend and pawning them. Magistrate Manila Renee ordered him to pay $250 compensation or face one week in prison.

Barbados man pawned friend's rings after borrowing them for a cruise

A 23-year-old man from New Orleans, St Michael, has been ordered to pay $250 in compensation after pleading guilty to stealing four rings valued at $2,700 from a longtime friend, Barbados Today reports.

Ahkel Ryan Harewood appeared before District 'A' Magistrates' Court No. 2, where Magistrate Manila Renee told him he had traded a lifelong friendship for a fraction of the jewellery's worth. "You have allowed a lifetime of friendship to be lost over $1,000," she said.

Rings borrowed, not returned

Prosecutor Sergeant Kenmore Phillips told the court that Harewood and the complainant, Leonard Harewood, had been friends when Leonard lent Ahkel the four rings to wear to an event. The agreement was that the jewellery would be returned within two weeks. It was not.

When Leonard pressed for the rings back, Ahkel told him two had been lost. Leonard then asked for the remaining pieces to be returned — but they never were.

The matter came to light when the complainant's girlfriend spotted the rings advertised for sale on Facebook Marketplace. A police report was made, and officers subsequently recovered three of the rings at a pawn establishment. The fourth was never found.

Accused admits pawning jewellery for cash

In court, Harewood said he had worn the rings on a cruise, lost one, and pawned the others because he was in financial difficulty. "I gine be honest Ma'am. I was in desperate times, and I needed the money," he told the magistrate. He said he had pawned two of the rings for $600 and a third for $400.

The theft took place between June 2 and August 10, according to the prosecution.

Defence cites youth and remorse

Attorney Rachelle Ward, appearing in association with defence lawyer Shadia Simpson, urged the court to take into account Harewood's age, his remorse, and the fact that three of the four rings had been recovered. Ward told the magistrate: "He is aware that his friendship is now lost and is sorry and willing to compensate the complainant. He is a first-time offender; and no violence was used in the commission of the offence."

Harewood has no previous convictions.

Magistrate: "You sold your friendship"

Magistrate Renee was pointed in her remarks before delivering sentence. "You sold your friendship," she said. "Here you had a good friend and you have now lost this friendship, and good people are often hard to find. If you needed money, you could have asked for help."

She ordered Harewood to pay $250 in compensation for the missing ring by Friday. Failure to pay will result in one week in prison.

Source: Barbados Today