A magistrate on Thursday fined a Jamaican man for deceiving a public officer.
Cleveland James, 40, of Pinewood Drive, pleaded guilty to the charge when he made his initial appearance before Chief Magistrate Roger Gomez.
Asked why he gave police a false name, James told the magistrate, "I was scared."
James, who is in the country illegally, told the court that he is married to a Bahamian, who did not "put in the [immigration] papers".
Corporal Catherine Darling, the prosecutor, told the court that police found James spraying a car on Malcolm Road West.
When the officers asked James his name, he gave a false one, Darling said.
However, they later found an ID in the defendant's name. When questioned about the ID, James told the officers that it belonged to his brother who had already left The Bahamas.
Gomez gave James the option of a $50 fine or spending one month in prison. The court also recommended early deportation.
 
 
 

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