





There was heightened drama inside the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court last week after three male prostitutes faced the court for their involvement in the robbery of a man's phone, after the man had picked up one of their friends whom he thought was a woman and had paid him for sexual favours.







The men, David 'Rihanna' Stewart, 21; Akeem 'Shelly-Ann' Barnett, 21; and Shevaun 'Batman' Lewis, 23, all of Kingston addresses, were recently arrested and charged with robbery with aggravation.







According to the police report, on August 17 around 11:30 pm, the complainant was driving along Waterloo Road in St Andrew when he was signalled to stop by someone whom he thought was a woman. The person reportedly shouted out: "Drop me down the road."







The man picked up the crossdresser and while he was driving on South Avenue the crossdresser reportedly told him that he did not have any money and was willing to perform oral sex on him for $500.







The complainant agreed, turned around his car and reportedly returned to premises on Waterloo Road and paid $1,000 to the crossdresser.







Upon reaching the compound, the crossdresser reportedly asked to look at the complainant's private member and realised that he did not have any condom and was asked by the complainant: "How you a woman and nuh have no condom?"



The crossdresser opened the car door and the complainant saw a group of people whom he recognised as men dressed as women and became uncomfortable, saying that he was no longer interested in the sexual transaction as he was doubtful about the crossdresser's true gender.







Further reports are that while the complainant was discussing the crossdresser's gender when he heard his cellular phone ringing and realised that it was in the crossdresser's bag. The accused reportedly had taken the phone and other items valued at $43,000 and quickly ran off in the direction of New Kingston.







During the chase that ensued, three accused men, who were seen running, volunteered to take the complainant to the crossdresser and he invited them into his car and took them to a location near the New Kingston Gully.







However, it was reported that when he got to the gully he saw a group of people advancing towards him with knives and sticks and he had to use pepper spray to keep them at bay, before he was able to escape.







The complainant reported the matter to the police and the three men were later arrested.







However, the story was disputed by the three men who claimed in court last Wednesday that they were not present at the time of the incident.







Lewis told the court that it was he who had helped the complainant to get back his phone.







"Through me know everything, all me do, me call and call until me get back the phone," he said.







But he insisted: "I wasn't there. Me go Devon House with me boyfriend and when me a come back police tek me off the taxi."







"It was Ashley who stole the phone, me and she was not there," Lewin said pointing to his co-accused.







He was corrected by Magistrate Maxine Ellis: "That's not a she, it's a him, you nuh see a man that."







Lewis, in continuing, insisted that he and his co-accused were not there and that he only pleaded guilty because he did not want to stay in custody as he was being ill-treated.







Stewart, when it was his time to speak, began doing so in a squeaky tone and gesticulating with his pinky finger but was quickly told by the magistrate to "put on his regular baritone" and to put his hands at his side and address her.







"I wasn't there, the man mek Ashley work him and tek weh him phone," he told the court.







"So you are working on the street?" Ellis asked.







"Me run from me community 'cause a me lifestyle, when me client dem call, me put on me clothes and go work and me get $2,000 or $1,500, that's the way I eat. Me nuh have no education 'cause me never do nuh subject and me madda deh a America," he stated.







"What caused you not to get any subject?" Ellis asked.







"Me left me community from me a 15 'cause me neva have nobody fi press me clothes," Stewart replied.







"From me a 12 me a wear girl clothes. Me did like girls. Me just find meself a blush off a boys," he revealed.







But Ellis told him that the fact that he did not like girls did not mean that he was a homosexual.







"Most 12-year-old old boys don't like girls, it is not unusual so nutten wasn't wrong. They don't want to look at any girls," she said.







"You get it wrong. I don't think you are born that way," she added, "And even if you believe in that lifestyle, what you are doing is wrong. Even if you were a woman at Back Road selling your body it would be wrong. Prostitution is wrong, that is nasty, dangerous," the magistrate went on.







She then told Stewart that he needed to go back to school, get an education and find a job that was honourable.







"The police are hunting you not because of your lifestyle but because you are living like criminals," she told the men.







"Nobody is concerned about who you are sleeping with. It is your nasty lifestyle sleeping with men while pretending like you are women," Ellis stated.







The magistrate said that wherever there was prostitution there was normally criminal behaviour.







"You see me, ask anybody 'bout Rihanna, me scared that's why I don't go to Ruthven Road 'cause dem a shot people and rob dem things. My client dem know me and know that me is honest and me don't do dem things deh," Stewart interjected and said.







"I don't know what to do with you," Ellis then said.







Lewis then told her: "I am begging you little leniency 'cause I wasn't there."







Ellis then told the court that the complainant should have been arrested and charged for his role in the incident.







"The complainant needs to get lock up 'bout him left him house and a buy sex," she said.







She then told the prosecutor that she needed to hear from the police. "I need to hear the real story," she said.







As a result, the three men who had pleaded guilty were remanded until Friday.







When they appeared in court on Friday, the investigating officer in the matter told the magistrate that the men were instrumental in the recovery of the cellular phone.







The police however, said that the men were part of a criminal network.







Ellis postponed the sentencing and ordered a social inquiry report into the men's background.







An October 2 sentencing date was subsequently set.







At that time the social inquiry report is expected to be completed.











Woman to go on trial in pregnancy scam







A woman faced the court for reportedly collecting $31,000 and baby clothes from a man under the guise that she was pregnant with his first child.







The court heard that the accused, Tameka Livingston, told the man that she was pregnant with his child and caused him to hand over money, a fan and clothes to her.







But the court further heard that when the man went to look for the baby in the hospital he found that there was no baby.







The St Catherine mechanic who sported a sad look on his face told the court that the accused had visited his house in Portmore on a number of occasions and he had given her from the little that he had.







He also told the court that his sister had sent him some baby clothes from overseas and he had given the unisex ones to the accused as he was not certain of the sex of the baby.







"When she call sey the baby born me tek up de girl stuff dem and bring the fan because she say she want a fan, but when me go fi see the kid she say me nuh deserve fi see the kid," the man told the court.







However, Livingston's lawyer Davian Vassel challenged the allegations in court on Thursday.







Vassel told magistrate Maxine Ellis that his client was in fact pregnant and had been attending pre-natal clinic but had a miscarriage.







According to the lawyer, the man was absent during his client's pregnancy and she wanted to see him but he never went to visit her.







As a result, Vassel said his client, after her miscarriage, told the man to come and look so that she could inform him, but that he came with his family and bag of baby clothes and she did not think it was appropriate to tell him at that time and just took the clothes.







"So this is what the pretence is about," Ellis said " But you can't use that to trick a man to come and look for you."







Vassel, in his client's defence, told the court that she had returned the baby clothes.







"It does not matter, you should not use that to trick a man," the magistrate insisted.







"Call him on the phone, send him a text, write a letter, call him out of his family setting, bring him around the back of the house by the fowl coup and tell him say I have some bad news for you," Ellis said.







"She did the wrong thing," she added.







The magistrate then questioned the man about his relationship status and his living arrangement and was told that he was single and that he lived with his sister and that the baby would have been his first child.







The magistrate then told the lawyer to take further instruction from his client and to address her in mitigation of sentence.







But when the lawyer returned he asked the magistrate for a further mention date for his client to clarify certain dates surrounding her pregnancy and miscarriage but the magistrate said she would not give him any mention date for that.







The lawyer told the court that his client wanted to go to trial and a date was set for January 11. The accused woman's bail was extended.



