A 58-year-old unemployed resident of St. Vincent and the Grenadines has received a consecutive prison sentence after pleading guilty to two counts of shoplifting, stealing chicken salami from the same Massy Stores location twice in a single day.
The case, adjudicated at the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court before Senior Magistrate Tamika McKenzie, traces back to an organized surveillance operation on June 29, when loss prevention officer Shelicia Hooper, who was already aware of the man’s repeated theft of the product from the store, launched targeted monitoring of the outlet at Stony Ground.
At approximately 5:30 p.m. that day, while reviewing closed-circuit television (CCTV) feeds, Hooper spotted the defendant, Cecil Young, entering the store wearing all black clothing and carrying a black backpack. Camera footage captured Young placing one Roberts Danish Cooked Chicken Salami into his backpack before heading toward the store exit. Hooper immediately alerted on-site security personnel, instructing them to detain Young and prevent him from leaving the premises.
A subsequent deeper review of earlier CCTV footage uncovered a second theft that had occurred roughly 15 minutes before the second incident: Young had already entered the store, taken two of the same chicken salami products, concealed them in his bag, and left without completing payment. The total value of all three stolen salami amounted to EC$92.85, with the pair of salami valued at EC$61.90 and the single salami priced at EC$30.95, all listed as property of Massy Stores.
After detaining Young, security staff handed him over to responding officers from the Kingstown Criminal Investigation Department, including Police Constable 72 Boyd. Boyd reviewed the surveillance footage, then conducted a formal interview and caution of Young in the presence of Police Constable 534 Adams.
During questioning, Young did not dispute the charges. He acknowledged his actions and confirmed that he was the individual captured on camera committing both thefts. When arraigned, Young entered guilty pleas for the two separate theft charges. Senior Magistrate McKenzie reviewed the CCTV evidence directly during the court proceeding before handing down the sentence.
Young was sentenced to eight months and 12 days of imprisonment for the theft of the pair of salami, and an additional seven and a half months behind bars for the theft of the single salami. The sentences have been ordered to run consecutively, resulting in a combined total prison term of 16 months and 12 days. McKenzie also issued an order for the recovered salami to be returned to Massy Stores.