The Tribune

By PAVEL BAILEY

TWO men were fined on separate drug charges in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

Allan Knowles, 24, of Island Drive, stood before Senior Magistrate Samuel McKinney on a charge of possession of dangerous drugs with intent to supply.

Around 12.50pm on March 28, Knowles was arrested after officers acting on a warrant searched his residence and uncovered suspected drugs in his bedroom dresser.

These drugs were later identified as Indian hemp with a total weight of 4.2 oz.

When questioned, the accused gave no comment on the drugs during both his initial arrest and subsequent official police interview.

However, in court Knowles pleaded guilty to the charge against him.

The prosecutor, Inspector Timothy Bain, informed the court that the accused had a previous drug conviction on a similar charge.

The accused’s attorney, Milton Cox, implored the magistrate not to impose a custodial sentence citing his client’s early plea of guilt. Mr Cox also said the drugs found in Knowles’ possession were only for his personal use.

In view of this, Magistrate McKinney ordered the accused to pay a $1,000 fine or risk three months in prison.

Another man, Barry Nicholas, 20, also stood before Magistrate McKinney on charges of possession of dangerous drugs and possession of drugs with intent to supply.

On March 28 police arrested the accused after finding one gram of Indian hemp on him. Additionally, a little more than eight ounces of marijuana was uncovered in the rear passenger side of Nicholas’s car in 128 ziploc bags. In court, Nicholas pleaded guilty to both charges.

Because the accused had no previous convictions the magistrate reduced one of the charges to simple possession as possession with intent to supply would stay on Nicholas’s criminal record forever.

Magistrate McKinney then sentenced Nicholas to pay a fine of $400 or one month in prison for the more than eight ounces of Indian hemp and a further fine of $100 or one month for the gram of Indian hemp.

The magistrate cautioned the accused against any further criminal behaviour, warning that any more infractions would result in Nicholas being punished to the fullest extent of the law.