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A woman who set her then boyfriend’s clothes alight, sparking a fire that damaged an apartment complex, has been ordered to pay more than $40 000 in compensation.
Kimberly Shantelle Brathwaite of Moncrieffe, Station Hill, St Philip, was sentenced in the No. 5A Supreme Court before Justice Christopher Birch after confessing during a previous session of the Continuous Sittings that on September 15, 2018, she unlawfully damaged a Fairholme Gardens building belonging to Linda Drakes by fire.
Finding a starting point of six years to be appropriate when considering the facts of the case, Justice Birch said: “While the culpability of the convicted woman is on the lower end, the results of her actions resulted in serious loss and damage to the owner and other occupants of the property.
“She knew or ought to have known the potential risks involved in setting her ex-boyfriend’s clothes alight and she had no lawful excuse nor explanation for her action.”
The sentence was reduced to two years and six months after discounts were applied for her admission of guilt and for delay.
Brathwaite was ordered to pay $40 415.07, $4 000 of which was due immediately. The balance must be cleared in 18 months, failing which she will have to serve the custodial sentence.
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Senior State Counsel Anastacia McMeo-Boyce prosecuted the case, while Senior Counsel Andrew Pilgrim represented Brathwaite.
The court heard that Brathwaite and her boyfriend had lived together in a two-storey, six-apartment building before she moved out after their relationship became strained.
She told him she would contact him in a week to discuss their future. Later that day, a female friend visited him at the apartment, and around 9 p.m., Brathwaite returned and demanded to be let in, insisting she knew a woman was inside.
After the female friend left, an argument broke out between Brathwaite and her boyfriend, during which she locked the wrought-iron gate to the apartment and became physically violent towards him. Eventually, his friend and her sister arrived, managed to unlock the gate, and the boyfriend left.
After his departure, Brathwaite continued arguing and breaking household items, and a short time later, the next-door neighbours were heard saying that a room was on fire. The other tenants were evacuated.
Her brother ran into the apartment, saw Brathwaite walking down the staircase from the bedrooms, and heard her say: “Wunna better go and check upstairs.” He saw clothing and the mattress on fire and tried to douse the flames, assisted by his other sister, parents and eventually Brathwaite, but the smoke became too intense and they were forced to leave.
While outside, the convicted woman was heard saying: “I ain’t know what I do. I so sorry I did not mean to do it.”
When Drakes arrived on the scene, Brathwaite told her: “I am probably the last person that you want to speak to right now. I did not think it would have catch. I am so sorry.”
After police took her to the Oistins station, Brathwaite said: “I took Alex clothes and throw them on the bed and took a match stick and light the bed along with Alex clothes. I just lost it, I did not know what I was doing.”
An assessment stated that the damages totalled $276 473.46. Insurance covered $173 402 of the total.
(JB)
