Dwayne Hamilton will be confined for the next 18 months after being caught on camera stealing lumber and steel from a Montego Bay business enterprise on January 11 this year.

Hamilton was sentenced on Friday when he appeared in the St James Parish Court to answer to the charge of simple larceny.

Prior to sentencing, presiding parish judge Sasha-Marie Smith-Ashley referred to a social enquiry report in which practically everyone in Hamilton’s community agreed that he has a drug habit.

“The complainant said that he has been preyed upon by you on multiple occasions and that as a result of your actions he had to put himself through much expense to get a security system in place,” the judge said.

“Your mother is elderly and she indicates that she is not capable of receiving you because she herself has had to rely on the kindness of someone … Your brother, I gather, lives close by and he doesn’t seem to be in a position to assist you,” Smith-Ashley said.

The judge also pointed out that the area in which Hamilton resides is notorious for being a place where drugs are easily or readily accessible.

While she recognises that he has a drug problem and needs help, she does not believe the Drug Court Treatment Programme is suitable for him since he cannot remain in custody while participating in the programme.

“You have to have the relevant support at home and you do not have that. It means you need to be in a programme that is more confined, with greater restrictions and supervision,” the judge said.

“I will take into account that you pleaded guilty and that checks didn’t reveal any previous convictions. However, I also take into account the aggravating features in this case as well as your obvious drug issues,” Smith-Ashley added.

She then sentenced him to 18 months imprisonment and recommended that he be placed on a drug treatment programme and receive psychiatric care.