St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda – October 24, 2026: The Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda’s Strategic Communications Office announced in an official immediate-release media statement that two local women have been handed custodial sentences after admitting to stealing high-value merchandise from a downtown St. John’s retail boutique. Cleo Lemonious, 25 and a resident of Cooks Hill, alongside 29-year-old Latoya Pilliner of Gray Hill, appeared before the St. John’s Magistrates’ Court on October 23 to face joint larceny charges tied to the theft of assorted clothing items from Hampton Boutique, situated at the busy intersection of Market and Redcliffe Streets in the capital’s commercial district. The total estimated value of the stolen apparel was calculated at EC$4,405, far exceeding petty theft thresholds under local jurisdiction. Both defendants entered formal guilty pleas during their Friday court appearance, prompting the presiding magistrate to issue an 11-day prison term for each woman at His Majesty’s Prison. Judicial officials confirmed the sentence was calibrated to account for the pre-trial remand time the pair had already served in custody following their initial arrest earlier this month, when the boutique theft was first reported to law enforcement. Immediately after the court proceedings concluded, Lemonious and Pilliner were transferred directly to the custody of the Antigua and Barbuda Immigration Department as an additional step following their criminal conviction, per standard post-sentence protocol for the jurisdiction.
Two women jailed for stealing more than $4,000 in clothing from St. John’s boutique
