BARBARA GAYLE, Staff Reporter

A man who in his bid to escape from the police broke and entered a motor car, kicking out the glass to one of the windows, has been sentenced to two years' imprisonment for malicious destruction of property.

He is 32-year-old labourer Andrew 'Capleton' Wakeland, who was also sentenced to two years' imprisonment for simple larceny.

Resident Magistrate Sheron Barnes heard evidence in the Falmouth Resident Magistrate's Court, Trelawny, and found him guilty of the charges. She ordered that the sentences must run concurrently, so he will serve two years.

Noel Cleghorn, the owner of the motor car, said he and two policeman and another man were in a barber shop in Falmouth on January 3 when the car alarm went off. He looked out and saw Wakeland sitting around the steering wheel of his Honda Civic motor car.

Constable Eric Adams said he too stepped outside and saw Wakeland who he knew as 'Capleton' in the motor car.

unarmed

Adams and Cleghorn said the accused jumped to the back seat, kicked out the left back door window and ran. The policeman, who was unarmed at the time, called out to 'Capleton' to stop, but he escaped.

When Cleghorn checked his motor car, he discovered that one of the nine phonecard machines he had for distribution was missing.

Two weeks later, 'Capleton' was held and identified as the man who was seen in the motor car. He said he lived in Coral Gardens, St James, but when investigating officer Constable Lennox Sterling went to the address, the residents said he did not live there.

Wakeland gave an unsworn statement in which he insisted that he lived in Coral Gardens, St James, where he did chicken rearing, and was "living so pure" with his family. He said Sterling went to the wrong address.