Josey Hill, St Lucy resident Khalil Anderson Chandler was found walking along the Cummings section of the ABC Highway going in the direction of Warrens around 11 p.m. last night.
When the 32-year-old was stopped by police and asked his reason for being on the road at that hour he told them that he had missed the bus and was attempting to hitch a ride with a family member in Warrens.
“Officer I know it is curfew time, I just missed the bus and heading by my cousin now,” Chandler who works as a roofer told police at the time.
Prosecutor Victoria Taitt in reading the facts told Chief Magistrate Ian Weekes that while officers were speaking to Chandler there was a strong scent on cannabis coming from a haversack he was carrying.
A search was conducted and two plastic bags were found with vegetable matter weighing 31.47 grammes. The cannabis had an estimated street value of $157. A scale with residue suspected to be cannabis was also found.
Before the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court today Chandler pleaded guilty to possession, possession with intent to supply, having a trafficable quantity of cannabis and having an apparatus for the misuse of the drug.
He also pleaded guilty to disobeying on February 2 – Paragraph 1, Subparagraph (3) of the Emergency Management COVID-19 Protocols Special Curfew No. 2 Directive 2021 by leaving his home between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. when he was not an employee or a member of the essential services or a person who had an emergency.
“I know I was breaking the curfew but as I explained to the officer, having missed the bus I was trying to get by another partner, I get refused. So, I was trying to intercept my cousin in Warrens to get to St Lucy,” the convicted man stated.
He went on to explain that he had visited some friends around 5 o’clock yesterday evening, where they had drinks and he attempted to get the 8 o’clock bus home.
Asked whether he knew that there was a maximum of a $50 000 fine for breaching the curfew, Chandler responded, “I don’t have $50 000 to give the state”.
After conducting a means assessment, a $4 000 fine was imposed on him to be paid in six months’ time or he will spend six months at Dodds. However, he was informed that he could approach the court for an extension if he was having difficulty completing the payment on time.
On the marijuana charges Chandler disclosed that he had been smoking from the age of 11 but “I don’t have a herb problem”.
He was convicted, reprimanded and discharged on the offences of possession, possession with intent to supply of cannabis and having an apparatus for the misuse of the drug.
The Chief Magistrate however placed him on a bond to keep the peace and be of good behaviour for six months on the trafficking charge. If Chandler breaches the order, he will have to pay a $1 000 forthwith fine or spend an alternative of three months in prison. No conviction will be recorded against him on the charge if he completes the bond successfully.
