Jorge Mesa arrived in the territory on a Liat flight from Antigua on Nov. 13, 2012. He handed a customs officer a Dominican Republic passport and a belonger card, and the officer became suspicious, prosecutors said.
“It was later determined that [the documents] were not authentic,” Senior Crown Counsel Sarah Benjamin said during a sentencing hearing on Friday.
Mr. Mesa, who had pleaded guilty to uttering forged documents, was sentenced to 15 months in prison for the offence.
In her sentencing, Magistrate Tamia Richards said the aggravating factors of the case far outweighed the mitigating factors — especially the high degree of planning that was required.
“Fake documents don’t just fall into someone’s lap. They don’t grow on trees, and you can’t buy them at a grocery store or convenience store,” Ms. Richards said. “You must be
See the June 13, 2013 edition for full coverage.