Bicycle Thief Remanded into Custody After Father Withdraws as Surety: A 17-Year-Old's Case in Barbados

A 17-year-old bicycle thief was remanded into custody after his father not only refused to sign his bail in that matter but removed himself as the teen’s surety in another case.

Devon Romario Lavine of 3rd Avenue, Greaves Land, St Michael pleaded guilty to stealing two bicycles belonging to Christopher Clarke on November 21, 2023, when he appeared in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court on Monday. However, he denied stealing a bicycle belonging to Christian Cumberbatch.

Speaking to Chief Magistrate Ian Weekes, the teenager’s father said he has constantly spoken to his son about his behaviour but there has been no change and there is no more he can do.

“I talk to he all the time. I went Probation, I went Child Care Board, I went all by the Psychiatric Hospital,” he told the court.

Stating that Lavine lived with his grandmother, the father said that she, too, was fed up with his attitude and would not be acting as a surety for him.

Magistrate Weekes informed the teen, who sat crying in the dock, that he would be remanded into custody until the next day.

Later in the day, Lavine appeared before Magistrate Manila Renee in Court No. 2 on a theft charge, which he had previously admitted to, and the father informed the court of his decision to remove himself as surety.

He told the magistrate that his son refused to adhere to the curfew set by the court and “refuses to listen”.

Granting permission for the withdrawal, she adjourned the matter until mid-January for Lavine’s pre-sentencing report.

When the teen reappeared before Chief Magistrate Ian Weekes on Tuesday, again, there was no one to sign bail on his behalf, and he was sent back to Dodds Prison pending sentencing.