An 18-year-old Barbadian man is being held behind bars at Dodds Prison ahead of his sentencing, after a sitting magistrate flagged alarming repeated criminal behavior tied to fraudulent transactions arranged via Facebook Marketplace.
Robereico Ricardo Brathwaite, a resident of Block 4B, Rock Avenue in Wildey, appeared before the No. 2 District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court this week, where he entered guilty pleas to three separate counts of robbery and theft committed between mid-August and mid-September. Acting Magistrate Shakieda Sealy made clear that the consistent pattern of predatory crime targeting people responding to online classified ads left her no choice but to order pre-sentencing detention.
“You have started off your adult life in the wrong way,” Sealy told Brathwaite as he stood in the defendant’s dock.
Prosecutor Sergeant Victoria Leacock outlined the details of all three incidents to the court, explaining that each followed the same calculated scheme: Brathwaite and an unidentified accomplice advertised fake jewelry for sale on Bajan Marketplace, the local Facebook buy-sell group, and arranged in-person meetings with interested buyers to carry out their robberies.
The first attack took place on August 17, when complainant Jaheim Harewood traveled to a Regent Hill, Pinelands location to meet the sellers and purchased a chain for $900. When Harewood discovered the jewelry was counterfeit and returned to confront the pair, Brathwaite pulled a knife while his accomplice brandished a firearm. The pair stole Harewood’s original chain, cash, wallet and all its contents, bringing the total value of stolen property to $1,532.
On September 5, the pair targeted buyer Ramon Wood at a meeting spot near a local public secondary school. When Wood pulled out $1,200 in cash to pay for a listed chain, Brathwaite snatched the money and fled. When Wood grabbed Brathwaite’s accomplice to block their escape, Brathwaite returned and threw a fake chain onto Wood’s car to force Wood to release his accomplice. Both suspects got away, and none of Wood’s stolen cash was ever recovered.
Six days later, on September 11, the pair carried out their most costly robbery against Dujuan Clarke at a meeting arranged on the grounds of St Barnabas Church. Clarke arrived with $2,000, the agreed price for the advertised jewelry, and was wearing multiple personal pieces of jewelry including several rings, a bangle, a chain and a pendant. When Clarke questioned the authenticity of the jewelry Brathwaite and his accomplice offered, the pair grew aggressive, overpowered Clarke and forcibly stripped him of his wallet and all his personal jewelry. The stolen items had a combined value of $5,550. Two of Clarke’s rings were recovered after Brathwaite’s arrest, but the rest remain missing.
Brathwaite’s legal representation urged the court to consider a non-custodial sentence, noting that Brathwaite has no prior criminal record, has expressed remorse for his actions, fully cooperated with law enforcement, and entered guilty pleas at the earliest possible stage of the proceedings. Addressing Magistrate Sealy directly, Brathwaite claimed he had been influenced by older associates to participate in the crimes. “I was led astray. I learn my lesson. I went following the multitude, and I am sorry, Ma’am,” he told the court.
Magistrate Sealy rejected the call for immediate release pending sentencing, emphasizing that the three coordinated attacks were not an isolated mistake but a deliberate pattern of criminal violence. “These are very serious matters. If it was just a one-off, maybe I could understand but this is definitely a pattern,” she said. “I will take time to think on this, so you will be kept tonight.”