It is often said that there is honour even among thieves.
The notion perhaps rang true last week when a pickpocket who pleaded guilty to his habitual vices, stunned those who were in a Corporate Area courtroom.
The man, who the police said was behind a series of robberies in and around downtown Kingston over recent times, virtually went on a journey in court to prove his detractors wrong.
Alphonso Davis was brought before to court to answer to robbery charges, which is definitely not new to the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court.
The case, however, took an unfamiliar turn when the presiding judge, before deciding on the sentence to apply, asked Davis to suggest how much more time he should spend behind bars.
“What I must give you? You tell me something reasonable (as) time (to spend in prison),” the judge asked in relation to the pending sentence.
First there was total silence in the court in anticipation of the answer from Davis.
To the surprise of the entire courtroom of persons, he said he thought 12 months was a reasonable time.
Then he changed his statements, first to 16 months, then to six months.
Amid the suggestions, he told the court that he knew he had a sticky finger problem, and reiterated that he was guilty of the charges that had been laid against him.
For his ‘honesty’ and openness, he was given a six-month prison sentence.
