WESTERN BUREAU:

A St James woman, who stole a laptop from a man while visiting his house, was given a suspended sentence when she appeared in the Montego Bay Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday.

Twenty-year-old Monique Allen, of Salt Spring, initially pleaded not guilty to larceny arising from the incident in which she stole a laptop belonging to Terrence Fearon. However, she later changed her plea to guilty.

The court was told that on September 1, Allen went to visit Fearon at his Salt Spring house. Fearon left the dwelling for a brief time, and when he returned the laptop was missing.

When the matter was called up on Thursday, Fearon told Resident Magistrate Sheron Barnes that he no longer wished to proceed with the matter, as he had already retrieved the laptop.

"Did you know her (Allen) before?" Barnes asked Fearon.

"Yes, but I do not wish to go any further. The laptop was returned to me in good working order, and the person who returned it to me was her boyfriend," Fearon replied.

"He (Fearon) said that if he got back his laptop he would not pressure you, but the question I am asking you is, Did you have it?" RM Barnes enquired of Allen.

"Yes, Your Honour," Allen replied after a moment's hesitation.

"Do you work, Madam?" the magistrate further asked her.

"No, Miss," answered Allen.

"I don't know what world you live in, but in the world I live in, people work for what they want and they sacrifice. So, you emulate that," Barnes told Allen sternly.

"The sentence of the court is six month's imprisonment, suspended for one year. So you walk a chalk line," Barnes concluded.