After 16 years of working as a messenger at H. Lavity Stoutt Community College, Febby Merry discovered a new way to make money. On 25 occasions in 2007, Mr. Merry, whose responsibilities included taking bags with the college’s cash deposits to the bank, took the deposits, threw out the bags they came in, and kept the cash. He stole a total of $69,855.78 this way in a 16-month period, Senior Crown Counsel Christilyn Benjamin said at Mr. Merry’s High Court sentencing hearing Tuesday.
After he pleaded guilty to theft charges, Justice Rita Joseph-Olivetti sentenced Mr. Merry to spend a year in prison and pay back $16,377.11 in restitution or serve an additional six-month term in prison.
Ms. Benjamin argued that the sentence should be increased because Mr. Merry abused a position of trust for a prolonged period and used the stolen monies for “entertainment purposes.”
In a police interview, Mr. Merry said he used the money “on friends and stuff like that,” Ms. Benjamin said.
See the March 29, 2012 edition for full coverage.