Surprise was expressed by police officers yesterday at the six months' sentence imposed on one of three men who robbed the Point Fortin Republic Bank the day before.
Stern Emmanuel, 21, of La Brea, who was caught by police shortly after the robbery, pleaded guilty to a charge of robbery with violence, when he appeared before Magistrate Betsy-Ann Peterson in the Point Fortin Magistrates' Court. Emmanuel's two accomplices, who are believed to be from the Laventille area, are still on the run.
The trio staged the robbery around 9.10 am on Thursday in the presence of customers. Emmanuel told the magistrate he robbed the bank to get money to do a course. Peterson in passing sentence, took into consideration the guilty plea and the fact that he said he was sorry. She said lots of people make mistakes and even though this was a very serious crime, she was giving him a second chance. She then sentenced him to six months' with hard labour.