By Alric Lindsay
A lady named Ms Bautista appeared before Justice Richards this afternoon, November 8, 2024, to hear proposals for sentencing for her theft of KYD18,727.75 from the deposit bags of Eat Fresh Limited (trading as “Subway”). The Crown suggested that, due to her role as assistant manager, Ms Bautista breached a high degree of trust, and given the level of harm caused, the starting point for prison time should be 2 years custody with a range of 1 to 3 years and 6 months’ custody. Her lawyer disagreed, arguing that the harm was less and she should not serve a prison term due to her health issues.
Background
According to the Crown, Ms Bautista worked at Subway from June 2017 after her sister, Annie Bautista-Simon, recommended her for the job.
As assistant manager, she handled cash, verified the receipts for the day, and made deposits with Cayman National Bank. These daily deposits were supposed to be documented on a cash sales summary report.
When the owners of Subway made checks on their online bank account, they noticed that the company was short of funds. There was also a discrepancy between what the online banking platform reflected and the deposits meant to be recorded by Ms Bautista. An internal investigation was done to discover the reason for the discrepancy.
The outcome of the internal investigation as that there was a “lapse in deposits” i.e., no night deposit drops were made on the dates that Ms Bautista was supposed to make deposits.
Upon further investigation, it was discovered that a total of $18,727.75 was missing.
When Subway’s owner discussed the issue with Ms Bautista, she allegedly confessed to the theft. However, she could not recall what she spent the money on, saying only that she “didn’t spend it in large portions” and “didn’t buy any house, any land.”
Upon hearing about the incident, her sister, Annie Bautista Simon, contacted Subway and apologized on her behalf. Her sister made an initial repayment of $1,500 to Subway.
However, things took a turn later in her police interview when she denied stealing anything.
She was charged and appeared in Summary Court in December 2021.
Following over nine subsequent hearings, Ms Bautista finally entered a guilty plea on June 3, 2024.
Sentencing
Using the Sentencing Council for England and Wales guidelines on theft, the Crown suggested that Ms Bautista had a high degree of culpability due to her breaching a position of trust.
The Crown, therefore, recommended 1 to 2 years of custody with a range of 1 to 3 years and 6 months. The Crown also noted aggravating features in that the offences were committed over a period of two weeks and five days. These aggravating features would presumably raise the length of the proposed sentence.
However, Ms Bautista’s lawyer disagreed, arguing that the sentence should be less.
Ms Bautista’s lawyer added: “There’s no suggestion of trappings of luxurious spending or anything of the like.”
He said further that it didn’t seem like a planned theft.
He continued:
… what appears to have happened is a young woman who never had that kind of responsibility placed in her before, never had that kind of money moving through her hands before, began giving herself informal bridging loans…
Explaining the situation, her lawyer said that she would basically take money from one deposit bag and repay it later by topping up another deposit bag.
He added that while she did not spend the money on luxury items, “some money was sent to her parents in the Philippines.”
He concluded that if the Court decided to send Mr Bautista to prison, her heart condition would make it difficult for any period of incarceration to be served.
Additionally, he asked the Court to consider that she is a young mother with five- and eight-month-old sons. Further, she is not working and is unable to contribute financially to the household.
After hearing from the Crown and Ms Bautista’s lawyer, Justice Richards said she would take time to consider what was presented in Court.
Ms Bautista is expected to return to Court to be sentenced on November 21, 2024.
