KINGSTON, Jamaica — A young man admitted to theft in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on Tuesday but told Senior Parish Judge Sanchia Burrell that he only pawned his employer’s jackhammer to finance the very job he was hired to complete.

Reports are that the female complainant hired Randy Redmond for a project and provided a jackhammer for his use while on the job. The woman left Redmond on site and when she returned, Redmond was gone and the equipment was missing.

When contacted, he told the complainant he did not have the jackhammer. She later discovered it had been sold at a pawn shop, where it was retrieved and confiscated by the police.

In open court, Redmond, who was charged with simple larceny, admitted to the theft; but went on to tell the judge that he never intended to deprive the woman of her jackhammer permanently.

The man indicated that he had run out of money to complete the job and pawned the jackhammer to get enough money to do so.

“I did want to get it back before she realise,” Redmond said.

He went on to admit that when she asked for the item he had lied about it, stating: “I couldn’t tell her [the truth] back again because I already tell her a lie.”

Redmond’s confession and admission of guilt were so earnest that Judge Burrell said, “I don’t know if you are very honest or I’m just gullible.”

The complainant said the loss of the jackhammer had set her back about $180,000 as it was still in police custody and the construction work was still incomplete.

The accused and the complainant agreed to seek mediation to try and resolve the issue.

— Dana Malcolm