Barbados Today

After he pleaded not guilty to using threatening words towards Antoinette Roberts on July 20, Andre Jamal Clarke was remanded to prison until the court can verify his record.

Clarke, of Scarborough, Christ Church went before Acting Magistrate Alliston Seale at the Oistins Court today.

Uncertainty arose after Station Sergeant Rudolph Burnett informed the court that even though he had no objections to Clarke being granted bail in the current matter, the accused had an outstanding matter at the District ‘A’ Court for which he was on bail.

Further, he never paid a $2,000 fine imposed on him by Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant last month for a drug offence.

Questioned, Clarke recalled having an outstanding matter relating to an offensive weapon and admitted that the fine was unpaid.

Seale remanded Clarke based on that information. However, Clarke’s mother addressed the court and agreed that the fine was outstanding but the other offensive weapon matter had been dealt with and her son had been placed on probation in relation to that.

She also agreed to pay the outstanding fine.

The Acting Magistrate then adjourned Clarke’s case until Monday and instructed the police to investigate the mother’s claims.

Following that though, Seale had some stern words for the 18-year-old accused.

“Keep out of trouble. I don’t enjoy sending young people to prison but this is how you all get yourself in trouble. You couldn’t find yourself out of school at 14, in my house. You leave school without certification and then find yourself on a block and then you start going down a slippery slope. Look you couldn’t even explain yourself,” he told Clarke.

“You all say you love your parents but you don’t. Otherwise she wouldn’t be here paying $2,000 to the Government when she could be doing something else with it,” Seale stressed.