Reid was found guilty of cashing 10 cheques from Christian Workers’ Union’s account, amounting to $6,500
The trial of Alex Reid, 26, a former office assistant for the Christian Workers Union in 2007 who was charged with ten counts of claiming upon a forged document on December 2, started before Justice Adolph Lucas.
The Crown, represented by Shanice Lovell and assisted by Kaysha Grant and Portia Staine, called 8 witnesses to the stand, including Antonio Gonzalez, James McFoy and Dorva Grey, all of whom were signatories on the CWU’s account.
Their testimonies revealed that between May and June of 2007, forty cheques, which totaled $18,600, were cashed by Reid, but only ten counts of the charge were brought against him.
The ten cheques, which were from the 3800 series, amounting to $6,500, were all cashed at the First Caribbean International Bank by Reid, and even witnesses from the bank testified that Reid was the person who went into the bank and cashed the cheques.
A voir dire was also heard where four more witnesses were called to determine the admissibility of the caution statement that Reid gave to police when he was arrested.
At the end of the voir dire, the judge ruled that the caution statement would be admitted into evidence which would go to the jury, and it was at that point in the trial that Reid, under the advice of his lawyer, Anthony Sylvester, changed his plea from not guilty to guilty.
When the jury returned into the courtroom, they were instructed by the judge to find Reid guilty of the charges.
This morning at his sentencing, Reid called Nigel Matus, co-owner of M & M Engineering, where he is now employed, to speak of his character.
Matus told the court that Reid has worked for the company since 2008, and has proven to be a responsible and obedient employee, who gets the job done. When asked if he knew what Reid had been convicted of, Matus replied that he knew and still felt comfortable to have him employed at the business, since he has seen him mature over the years and that he has been a responsible parent to his three children and a good husband to his wife.
Matus also then told the court that he realized that Reid was young when he committed the offenses, and while he believes that people should be punished for their wrongdoings, he begged the court to give Reid the opportunity to stay on the positive path that he has maintained since 2008.
Reid also spoke and told the court that he was young and foolish when he committed the crime, and regretted doing so. He also said that he knew it was wrong, and promised not to ever do such a thing again, then asked the court to please give him another chance.
After hearing the mitigation pleas, Justice Lucas then fined Reid $2,500 for each of the ten counts — $25,000 total – five thousand of which must be paid by tomorrow, December 20, 2013.
In default of payment, Reid would spend 1 year in prison for each count, with the sentences to run consecutively.
The $20,000 balance must be paid in installments of $2,500 every six months, with the first payment being due on May 31, 2014.