(CMS): Rickie Joiner Alvarado (33) was jailed on Friday for more than five years for a catalogue of offences in which he was repeatedly caught on CCTV or left damning evidence at the scene. At the top of the list of crimes was a violent street mugging in a dark parking lot off Mary Street in George Town in the early hours of 16 March 2025. He pleaded guilty to robbery.
During the incident, Alvarado punched a visitor in the face twice and stole his wallet. He had been caught largely because his victim put up a fight during the mugging, and as they wrestled to the ground, Alvarado’s t-shirt was pulled off before he fled the scene, allowing police to trace him through DNA. He was also captured on CCTV, a frequent occurrence for him during his criminal career.
Justice Cheryll Richards also sentenced him for eight other offences that had happened before the robbery, which was committed while he was on bail for other crimes. The judge listed several opportunistic, successful and attempted break-ins and burglaries at various commercial premises and non-profits, including the Humane Society, where he stole a tip jar, and the National Trust office in South Sound, where he caused considerable, costly damage but was unable to get inside.
In her ruling, Justice Richards noted that Alvarado’s criminal career was fuelled by an addiction to crack cocaine and alcohol. As she laid out the details of his criminal past and this recent crime spree over a two-year period, she described numerous unplanned, unsophisticated attempts at gaining cash or goods to pay for his drug habit, where he was constantly caught on video, making no attempt to disguise himself.
A social inquiry report noted that Alverdao was at very high risk of re-offending.
Since being in prison on remand, Alverado has had difficulty following the rules. He has recorded around 17 infractions, including throwing a full bucket of dirty mop-bucket water containing bleach at a prison officer, which reached the level of criminal charges and earned him an additional six weeks’ jail time on his final sentence of five years and three months.
After Justice Richards handed down the jail time, Alverado said that the list of offences made him sound like a “very bad person”, but he wanted to turn his life around. The judge told him he must fully participate in the rehabilitation programmes offered at the prison. “You must help yourself now,” she said.
