Rolan Welcome Gets 10 Years In Prison For Burglary Of Bartender’s Home In East End, Kicking Her Door Down & Armed With A Machete
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By Alric Lindsay
Rolan Welcome, a man who was found guilty of aggravated burglary in September 2024, was sentenced today, March 4, 2025, to 10 years in prison. The sentence occurred in his absence, as he reportedly declined to attend his sentencing hearing. His time spent in custody will be deducted from the sentence today.
Background
According to the judgment, in November 2023, Welcome went to the Eastern Star Bar in East End.
Based on the account of one of the female bartenders, when she finished her shift and went home, she was awakened by a voice and footsteps outside her bedroom.
She heard the doorknob shaking, and shortly thereafter, Welcome kicked open her bedroom door. She recognized him from the bar earlier.
Armed with a large, rusty machete, Welcome said:
Where is the money?
Give me the money!
Where is the money from the bar?
When the bartender told Rolan she didn’t have any money, he placed the machete on the right side of her neck, saying: “That’s a lie. I know you have the money. Give me all that you have.”
Eventually, she gave Rolan the 300 US dollars she had in her possession.
Having taken the money, Rolan said:
Don’t call the police because I’m going to come and look for you, and I’m going to find you. I know who you are and I know where you live.
Sentencing
After highlighting the Crown’s submissions and sentencing in previous aggravated burglary cases, Justice Carter sentenced Welcome to 10 years in prison.
Notes to readers:
Justice Carter noted that, regarding local precedents on sentences for aggravated burglary, the defendant in the 2018 matter of R v Presley Charles Whittaker received 40 months in prison on a guilty plea to aggravated burglary. In that case, the defendant had entered an unoccupied dwelling with a machete in his hand. A neighbour observed the defendant’s entry through a window and reported this to the property manager. .
In the case of Romario Brown, the defendant received a sentence of five years and three months imprisonment on a guilty plea for aggravated burglary.
Justice Carter considered these cases before delivering her judgment.
