KINGSTON, Jamaica – A man who was previously given six months’ imprisonment by a Senior Parish Judge last year for aggravated robbery, was again sentenced by that same Judge on Tuesday for a similar offence.

Rodney Smith was ordered to spend two years in prison at hard labour by presiding judge Lori-Ann Cole-Montague in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court after he pleaded guilty to robbing a woman at knifepoint outside her gate.

On November 8, as the complainant was heading toward her parked vehicle to go to work, Smith approached her with a knife and attempted to grab her. A scuffle ensued, during which she fell, and Smith reportedly took her black Samsung Galaxy S9 cellphone.

It was revealed that the complainant’s husband had tried to defend his wife during the scuffle, but Smith escaped.

When asked by the judge if he had any previous conviction Smith said, “Yes, Your Honour… for robbery with aggravation… you did give me six months, me just come out July.”

“Mi know yuh face look familiar,” the judge responded.

After handing down the sentence Judge Cole-Montague said, “Don’t mek me have you see back your face in court.”

-Candice Haughton