MONTEGO BAY, St James — A man who was reportedly caught driving a stolen motor vehicle was granted bail in the amount of $400,000 with up to two sureties when he appeared in the St James Parish Court last Wednesday.

Bonjay Johnson, 22, of Linstead, St Catherine, pleaded not guilty to larceny of a motor vehicle and guilty to receiving stolen property before presiding judge Kaysha Grant-Pryce.

According to court documents, at some point during the day on March 12 the complainant parked his 2018 Nissan motor car on Kent Avenue in Montego Bay, St James, and ensured the vehicle was securely locked.

On his return, about 9:30 pm, he discovered that his car had been stolen and reported the matter to the police.

The allegations are that cops later apprehended Johnson while he was driving the complainant’s vehicle along the Salt Marsh main road in Trelawny.

In court, defence lawyer Donovan Collins asserted that Johnson had cooperated with the police and shared information regarding the circumstances under which he was driving the vehicle.

“Based on my instructions, he was in St James and the vehicle was given to him by another person to drive to St Catherine…He was not aware that the vehicle was stolen,” the attorney said.

After hearing Collins’ argument, the judge asked why Johnson had failed to confirm ownership of the vehicle; the lawyer provided an explanation.

Collins then requested that his client be released on bail, arguing that the prosecution had presented no evidence to suggest that, if granted bail, Johnson would fail to appear in court.

“But your client has been charged with a serious offence, and the allegations are quite strong against him. So you need to have frank discussions with your client,” judge Grant-Pryce advised.

As a condition of Johnson’s $400,000 bail, the judge mandated that he report to a specific police station on specific days and surrender his travel documents.

“Before you are able to take up your bail, your passport will have to be surrendered to the court’s office… It’s either your passport is surrendered or a stop order is imposed,” Grant-Pryce said.

Johnson is to return to court on April 22.