The Tribune

By FARRAH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A HARBOUR Island man who behaved in a disorderly manner and cursed an officer who caught him buying a marijuana joint was yesterday placed on probation for a year.

Robin Smith Jr, 31, was arrested after he was found with a gram of Indian hemp on May 8.

Prosecutors said when officers approached and questioned Smith, Jr, he began using obscene language and “throwing his body from side to side”. They also said he caused over $500 worth of damage to a plexi-glass screen in the police station’s charge room when he was taken in for questioning.

He admitted the offences when he appeared before Senior Magistrate Derence Rolle Davis.

The court was told that that night, officers on mobile patrol in the Dunmore Street area observed two men sitting in a golf cart exchanging an object in a suspicious manner. When they approached the men and informed them that they would be searched for dangerous drugs and firearms, Smith Jr resisted.

He was subsequently arrested for disorderly behaviour, but when he was taken to the Harbour Island Police Station he continued to “throw his body from side to side” and bang his head on the station’s door frame. The prosecution said the accused also hit his head against the plexiglass in the charge room, causing extensive damage. When officers eventually restrained him and searched him in custody, they found the marijuana joint.

When he was questioned, he admitted to using obscene language, behaving in a disorderly manner, causing damage and being in possession of illegal drugs.

Yesterday, Smith, Jr, was represented by attorney Ian Cargill. He told the magistrate his client was a fisherman who also ran a golf cart cleaning facility. He also said the accused was under the influence of alcohol at the time of his arrest and reacted the way he did because he was scared that he had been caught.

In response, Magistrate Derence Rolle Davis told the accused he needed to have a level head if he wanted to be a businessman. As a result, he placed him on probation for one year. He warned Smith, Jr, that if he was convicted within that time frame, he would be sentenced to nine months in prison.