…six-month sentence follows years of harassment, vandalism
A 33-year-old man, Walter October, also known as “Buck Man,” was sentenced to six months in prison on Monday after violating a protection order meant to safeguard his father, Hughes October, and stepmother, Abena Rockcliffe. The sentence came after a series of troubling incidents, including repeated harassment and vandalism of the family’s business.
October appeared before Senior Magistrate Fabayo Azore at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts, where he was charged with breaching the protection order on January 19, 2025, just two days after he went to court for breaching the protection order. According to the charges, he came within 200 feet of Rockcliffe and 300 feet of his father’s business. Rockcliffe explained to the court that she filed the protection order on Friday, only for October to violate it later that day. She recounted, “Sunday afternoon, when I came from the airport, I was lying down, and then I heard he went into the shop again…he was breaking the window to come inside the shop.”
Walter October
In a previous court appearance in October 2024, he was placed on $10,000 bail and remanded into the custody of his mother, who had recently returned from overseas. The court heard that October had asked his father for his mother’s contact details, but his request was denied. Hence why he stayed at his father’s residence. October’s mother explained in court that her son had been away “over the river’” when his father called him to return, offering him another chance. Despite this, she questioned why he would be brought back to the home given his past behaviour.
Rockcliffe and Hughes October shared their frustrations with the ongoing harassment, detailing how October had repeatedly vandalized their store and threatened customers. “With this ongoing for several years, we are not getting any customers. So, I told his father it’s either he closes down the business or does something about him,” Rockcliffe revealed.
October’s father testified that his son had been a consistent threat, ransacking their store and harassing tenants. Despite numerous police reports, October’s mother repeatedly bailed him out, making it difficult for his parents to stop his destructive behaviour. They also described verbal abuse and threats against others in the community, with October claiming to be of unsound mind.
However, his father denied this, stating, “It’s not true. He knows what he is doing; he is very intelligent. We took him to Doctor Harry, and the hospital told us there’s nothing wrong with him mentally.”
The couple eventually sought the protection order, which required October to stay away from their home and business. However, he breached the order by returning to the premises. Initially, October denied violating the order, claiming he was only outside on the pavement, but later admitted he had been bathing in their yard. Begging for leniency, he pleaded, “Ma’am, I’m begging for leniency. I was bathing in the yard, but I did not go in their business shop.”
After hearing both sides, Magistrate Azore considered October’s guilty plea and sentenced him to six months in prison, warning him that protection orders must be taken seriously.
“Protection orders are put in place for specific purposes. We have to take them seriously, or else people will just breach orders as they please. That is not the purpose of why we are here; we are trying to maintain order,” she said.
Despite pleading for a lesser sentence, October was informed that the maximum penalty for his offense could be up to one year in prison.
