A St Ann man who drove away a motor car from downtown Kingston to St Ann with a University of the West Indies student on board and demanded $100,000 for her return was sentenced to two years in prison when he appeared in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate’s Court last Friday.

The 31-year-old offender, Jason Pinnock, who also stole $2,000 from the car owner’s handbag, was sentenced by Senior Magistrate Judith Pusey after he pleaded guilty to kidnapping, simple larceny, driving away motor car and extortion.

He was sentenced to two years on each charge, but the sentences are to run concurrently.

However, Pinnock in his defence told the court that he did not deliberately kidnap the student, and only took the car to drive himself home as he was stranded in downtown Kingston.

“I just wanted to reach home,” he said.

Pinnock was arrested on February 14, several hours after he drove away the complainant’s car, which was parked in front of a primary school on Duke Street.

The court heard that he drove the car with the student to St Ann, where he eluded the police in Mammee Bay but was later captured at a guest house in the parish.

Before the sentence was passed on Friday, Pinnock gave an elaborate tale as to his reason for driving away the car.

“I was in town and I did not have any fare to go over,” he said.

Pinnock claimed that while he was in downtown Kingston to purchase clothes and eyeglasses, he was held up and robbed of his gold chain and money and had to sleep overnight on the streetside.

“When I was sleeping, a woman even tried to take away my slippers from underneath my head,” he told the court.

Pinnock said that when he woke up in the morning he sought assistance for bus fare without any luck.

He said that shortly after, he saw the car throttling, “I went inside, and I am driver and I have a drivers’ licence so I just drive.”

But Pinnock told the court that he was not aware that the student was in the back of the car, and did not purposely kidnap her.

He added that he only took the money from the handbag to buy the student a patty that she had requested and also bought himself a hot beer.

“I tell the girl not to worry herself ’cause when I reach down I would return the car to her mother,” Pinnock told the court.

“I did not take it deliberately, I just wanted to reach home,” Pinnock emphasised as he finished telling his story.

“You make it sound so good as if it’s right. Did you ever stop to think what went through the woman’s mind when you drove off her car and drove away with her child? Can you imagine all the way to St Ann?” RM Pusey remarked.

“I didn’t know she was in there,” Pinnock repeated.

“You should have stopped,” RM Pusey told him.

Before handing down the two-year prison sentence, the magistrate told Pinnock, “I have to make sure that no one else gets the bright idea that they can just drive away a vehicle because they want to get home.”

— Tanesha Mundle