A man who said a broken job promise drove him back into crime was sentenced to three years in prison for cheque fraud.
St Elmo Holford, 60, of no fixed address, appeared in the No. 5A Supreme Court and apologised for stealing and forging a cheque from a politician’s constituency office in 2023.
Now, after deductions, Holford is left having to serve 294 more days in prison for forging a cheque payable to
S. Bradshaw for $7 500, purporting to be signed on behalf of Errol Clarke Associates Limited by a Tyrone Holford, and endeavouring to obtain the cash from RBC Royal Bank on December 20, 2023.
In the dock, Holford said that he had canvassed between 2012 and 2016 and had been assured he would get a job.
“I did not get in trouble for seven years, and I work hard for that job, sometimes from seven o’clock in the morning to two o’clock the next morning. I ain’t get the job,” he said, adding that he became vexed at the situation.
“That is when I started back in this life again. I am sorry that I did what I did…I am throwing myself at the mercy of the court,” said Holford, who has 20 previous convictions.
Justice Christopher Birch told him: “In life, we are all made promises one way or another. Some of those are binding and can be pursued in a court of law. Other promises are made in a moment, and that moment comes and goes, and the promise goes with it. Whatever promises you were made, do not justify your actions. No matter what way you felt, that does not give you the right to take up what was yours to profit from it.”
The judge agreed with the three-year starting point for each offence given by the prosecutor, State Counsel Eleazar Williams, adjusted upward by another six months for the aggravating factors of Holford’s criminal record and the planning that went into committing the offence.
But after the 490 days he spent on remand and a one-third discount for his early guilty plea were factored in, he will spend almost 10 more months behind bars.
“I take your word that you are sorry for what happened…After this, it is time to retire from crime,” Birch advised.
“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir,” said Holford.
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