A university student, who was conned out of a $290,000 that he had taken out to purchase a car, held back tears as he related in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate’s Court last week how the accused had tricked him and drove away with his birthday cake and other personal items.

The young man, whose voiced cracked as he spoke in court on Friday, explained that the accused, Dwayne Thompson, after collecting his money, left him hanging at the tax office after he told him to go and check if the office was crowded.

The complainant told Resident Magistrate Maxine Ellis that he met the 31-yearold electrician online where he had advertised a 1993 Honda Civic for sale.

However, the complainant said the accused had identified himself as Ricardo Barnes and after disappearing with the car and his money, blocked the complainant from calling his phone.

The complainant then went and did his own probe and tracked down the accused at his son’s school and alerted the police.

The prosecutor, in outlining the allegations, said that the Thompson placed an advertisement online and was contacted by the complainant who paid over $290,000 to him from January 4-6.

The court further heard that complainant met the accused at his home on January 6 and paid him the final tranche of the money, which was part-payment for the car.

However, it was reported that Thompson told the complainant that he needed to use the car to pick up his son at his school but the complainant insisted on going with the accused as they both needed to attend the tax office.

Eventually, when they arrived at the tax office, Thompson reportedly asked the complainant to go inside and check if it was crowded and the complainant agreed and went to check, but when he returned the accused and the car were nowhere in sight.

The complainant reportedly made numerous calls to Thompson’s cellular phone, but they all went answered.

The complainant, having remembered the location of Thompson’s son’s school, after further investigation went to the school where he saw the accused and summoned the police who made the arrest.

Thompson was subsequently charged with obtaining money by false pretence. “The complainant is out of pocket of $290,000 and need his money or the car,” the prosecutor told the magistrate after reading allegations.

However, Thompson’s lawyer, Carol DaCosta, told the court that her client did not collect any money from the complainant and that the money was paid over to the owner of the car.

“The owner having exited the scene, they held onto my client,” she said. The complainant then told the court that the accused had given him a receipt in the name of Ricardo Barnes and that he had given it to the police.

The complainant also told the court that he had carried out his own investigation and had found out that the accused man’s correct name was Dwayne Thompson, and that he had also conned someone else out of $70,000.

“I lost my birthday cake, my bag…. everything was in his car, “ said the complainant, who had to pace his words to control his emotions.

The complainant told the court that Thompson, after he made off with the car, called and told him to meet him at Parade in downtown Kingston, but the complainant said he became suspicious and did not go.

“I actually took out a loan,” the complainant said as he fought back tears. “I found out that he had five kids with three different females.”

The magistrate then injected saying: “His wife already knows, but you’re saying this to say that he has responsibilities and should understand that you have responsibilities too.”

The distraught complainant then agreed that that was the point he was trying to make.

The magistrate then told the court that she was very concerned about the issue of identification, and told the police that they should follow up on the information that the complainant has provided and should verify Thompson’s name and address before she considers bail.

“I thank the complainant for his detective work because before we had no address for him on this file,” she said. Thompson was remanded and the matter was set for mention on March 17.