The Tribune

By FARRAH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A 21-year-old man who was caught purchasing marijuana must pay $1,000 to avoid spending three months in jail.

The man who was caught selling the drugs to him must also pay $2,000 to avoid spending time behind bars.

Police arrested Jazario Rolle and Adrian Hall after they were found with $120 worth of Indian hemp on July 7.

The court was told that around 5 p’clock that afternoon, officers on Sunrise Road took up surveillance in a nearby bush. From their hideout spot they saw the accused exchanging silver foil wraps for cash. The prosecution said the joints were removed from a nearby sofa that was next to an abandoned building. The court was told that the officers then approached the men and informed them they would be searched for dangerous drugs and firearms. When they checked the sofa, officers discovered 13 silver foil wraps near the interior of the chair’s handle. Rolle and Hall were subsequently arrested. When they were interviewed in police custody they denied the offence.

However, when the pair appeared before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt they both pleaded guilty to dangerous drug possession with the intent to supply.

Their attorney, Jomo Campbell, told the magistrate his clients were young and pleaded guilty as not to waste the court’s time. He also said they “fell on hard times after the construction industry came to a grinding halt” and made the “silly mistake” of engaging in illicit activities.

After listening to his explanation, Magistrate Ferguson-Pratt fined Rolle $1,000 or three months at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services. She said because Hall had a previous conviction of a similar nature, he would be fined $2,000 or four months in prison.