The Tribune

By FARRAH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A 38-YEAR-OLD woman who claimed she gave officers the wrong name because people commonly confused her surname with another name of a similar pronunciation was discharged with a warning.

Shavanda Basden appeared before Senior Magistrate Carolyn Vogt- Evans after she was accused of deceiving a police officer on February 12.

The court was told that officers were in the Meadow Street area conducting a road check when they stopped and questioned Basden. When they asked her for her name and date of birth, the accused told them her surname was Bastian but some people called her Basden. The prosecution said the woman also told officers every time she gave the name Basden she got into problems. The court was told that when the accused showed the officers her passport, it was revealed her last name was actually Basden. She was subsequently arrested and taken to a nearby station. When the accused was questioned by officers there, she denied the offence.

During the hearing, Basden was represented by attorney Nathan Smith. He told the magistrate his client pleaded guilty because she took full responsibility for her actions. He also noted the names “Basden” and “Bastian” were similar, so when the officer thought his client had told him her last name was Bastian, she did not bother to correct him. He also said that Basden “appreciated her attitude on the day in question was improper”.

After lightning the plea in mitigation, Magistrate Vogt-Evans discharged Basden with a warning.