MONTEGO BAY, St James – A man who told the court he was slightly drunk when he stole a woman’s $38,000 phone while she was using it on Christmas Day has been fined $30,000.

Keneil Coke, a 37-year-old chef from St James, pleaded guilty to larceny from the person when he appeared before presiding judge Sasha-Marie Smith-Ashley in the St James Parish Court on Wednesday.

According to the prosecution, in the late evening of December 25, the complainant was standing at the Sangster International Airport roundabout waiting for a taxi when she took out her Samsung Galaxy phone to make a call.

While on the phone, she noticed a man walking towards her from the direction of Flankers. She soon after felt someone grab her phone from behind and, when she spun around, she noticed it was the same man.

She stated that the man ran into bushes, so she approached a police unit heading towards the roundabout and requested assistance.

The cops went to the area and, after using the light of their vehicle to illuminate the bushes, they discovered the accused man hiding.

Coke was subsequently arrested and charged. The complainant’s phone was recovered.

“Mr Coke, let’s not waste any time, did you do it?” presiding judge Smith-Ashley asked in court on Wednesday.

‘Yes, Your Honour,” replied Coke.

“Why did you do it?” the judge asked.

“I was a little bit tipsy, Your Honour,” said Coke.

Smith-Ashley then fined him $30,000 or 30 days in jail, while informing him that the court accepts debit and credit cards if he did not have cash.