Bad Boy Trevor lies to judge; fails to buy time for fine
CHIEF PARISH Judge Chester Crooks on Wednesday refused a request from popular actor and director Garfield ‘Bad Boy Trevor’ Reid for time to pay a fine of $130,000 after the actor lied to the court.
The 50-year-old actor appeared in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court in relation to several breaches, to which he pleaded guilty, stemming from an illegal pool party that he had hosted last March.
He had been charged along with 23-year-old Kenniel Smith, who was manning a bar at the party.
But when the case was mentioned on Wednesday, Smith had not yet arrived, and Reid told the judge that he was absent because his grandmother had contracted the coronavirus.
However, shortly after Smith arrived, the judge found out that Reid had lied and that Smith’s grandmother had, in fact, passed away five years ago.
As a result, Judge Crooks told Reid that he would not receive extra time to pay the fine but could be offered a phone call to make arrangements.
The 50-year-old actor was ordered to pay $100,000 for breaching the Disaster Risk Management Act, $20,000 for breaching the Noise Abatement Act, and $10,000 for breaching the Spirit Licence Act. All sentences attract a threemonth sentence if the fine is not paid.
Smith, who also pleaded guilty, was ordered to pay $50,000 or serve three months in prison for breaching the Disaster Risk Management Act and $10,000 or three months for breaching the Spirit Licence Act.
However, the charge against both men for breaching the State of Emergency Act was dropped.
The men were arrested and charged after the police raided Reid’s premises on March 23 last year at 1 a.m. and found a party in full swing despite there being a restriction on public gatherings to 10 persons and an 8 p.m. curfew. According to police, there were 50 people in attendance.
The investigator, who was present in court on Wednesday, told the judge that Reid had told the police that it was a get-together for his staff, but she had witnessed persons paying money to Smith in return for liquor.
However, Reid, in his defence, told the court that only 20 persons were initially at the event but that more guests streamed in to the venue after he turned off the music.
The judge then admonished him for hosting the party, adding that “stubborn” and “hard-headed” people were one of the factors fuelling COVID infections.