The Tribune

A WOMAN who tried to prevent her teen relative from being arrested must pay $525 to avoid spending a month behind bars.

Maxine Pratt was charged with obstructing justice and disorderly behaviour after she tried to pull the boy away when officers were questioning him in reference to a theft investigation last year.

She denied the allegations when she first appeared before Senior Magistrate Derence Rolle Davis and the matter was adjourned to trial.

When the 16-year-old boy gave evidence yesterday, he claimed he was washing dishes early in the morning on December 29, 2020, when he heard a man calling his name from downstairs.

He said when he went outside, the man, who he later discovered to be a police officer, confirmed he was the one he was looking for before shouting: “Where is the phone?”

The teen said although he told the policeman he did not know what he was talking about, the man kept interrogating him. He also said the officer did not acknowledge his relatives when they came outside to see what was happening, but instead said they “would deal with him at the station” before carrying him there.

The boy said when he was in custody at the station, Pratt and her husband came to see what was happening. He claimed while he was being detained, he heard Pratt saying: “Why you hitting me?” and “Why you pulling up my dress?” He also claimed officers then placed her in a cell where she began to cry and state that she could not breathe.

He said Pratt did not speak for about five minutes, but then said she had to urinate. He claimed the officers ignored her, so she relieved herself in the cell. He added that when the officers realised what she had done, they called her a “nasty woman”.

Nonetheless, when Pratt’s attorney asked the magistrate to dismiss the case against her in view of the teen’s testimony, the prosecution objected.

The Crown argued that when the officers visited the woman’s residence that day, they informed the teen and the adults of the alleged offence before attempting to caution and arrest the young boy. The court was told that it was at that time that Pratt intervened by trying to pull the boy away from the officers. The prosecution said when Pratt came to the station to see the 16-year-old, she was informed that she was also being charged with obstruction. They said it was at this time that she became “hostile, loud and disorderly”.

In his ruling, Magistrate Rolle Davis noted that when Pratt took the stand, she admitted trying to pull the boy away from the police, which proved the charge of obstruction. He said he also considered the evidence of the arresting officer, who said that both Pratt and her husband were invited to come to the station after they were informed that the teen was being arrested. However, the court was told that from the time Pratt entered the station, “her speech was high” and she was “loud and screaming”.

Magistrate Rolle Davis said he also considered the fact that Pratt’s own husband was said to have told her to “let the police do their job” when she began to act disorderly. As a result, he fined her $500 for obstruction and another $25 for disorderly behaviour. He said if she failed to pay the fines, she could risk spending a month and five days in custody.