By FARRAH JOHNSON
Tribune Staff Reporter
fjohnson@tribunemedia.net
A 37-year-old man who claimed he sold drugs to support his family was yesterday sentenced to six months in prison.
Police arrested Thomas Robinson, Jr, after they found several packages of Indian hemp and five ecstasy pills in his home on December 23.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of dangerous drug possession with the intent to supply during his hearing before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes.
The court was told that that day, officers went to Robinson’s house with a warrant and informed him that his house would be searched for dangerous drugs and firearms. The prosecution said that during their investigation, officers discovered 31 Ziploc bags filled with suspected marijuana in Robinson’s bedroom. They also said they found vacuum sealed packages filled with more marijuana and five ecstasy pills in a Nike backpack in the accused’s room.
Robinson was subsequently arrested and taken to the Drug Enforcement Unit where he admitted to the offences in an interview with police.
During the hearing, Robinson told the magistrate that his wife had recently lost her job so he started selling drugs because they fell on “serious hard times”. He also insisted that he chose to sell drugs because he “didn’t want to rob or steal so he chose to do what he knew best”.
In response, Magistrate Forbes told Robinson that there were other avenues he could have taken to provide resources for his family. He also noted that the accused had appeared before him in 2015 for a similar crime and said it appeared that he had not learned his lesson. As a result, Magistrate Forbes sentenced him to six months behind bars.
Commenting has been disabled for this item.