The money which police held him with was made up of his savings and the proceeds from his business of buying and selling cars.
That was according to Marlon Hosea Carrington, who told the court on Thursday that he had done nothing wrong and only worked extremely hard.
He gave the evidence in an unsworn statement from the dock in the No. 4 Supreme Court.
Carrington, of Phillips Road, the Pine, St Michael, is accused of engaging in a transaction on December 7, 2009 involving $57 000 being the proceeds of crime.
He is also charged with engaging in money laundering by having $49 941 and US$36, being the proceeds of crime, in his possession on October 31, 2012.
In giving an explanation on how he got the money, Carrington said he had been employed by a Dennis Neblett for eight years. He said following a fallout with Neblett, he became self-employed and later he did some work with Rooftec Inc. where he earned a substantial amount of money.
Carrington told the court he then got into the business of buying and selling vehicles. He said at one point he had four vehicles in his name.
“I used to buy and sell vehicles, I would sell drinks at football and I also did some taxi work with the vehicles,” he said.
Carrington said in 2012 he was on his way to St John to purchase a vehicle when he was stopped by the police and taken to the station.
He said when he was questioned as to how he got the money, he replied that he had worked hard and saved it and had done nothing illegal to obtain it.
Carrington said police subsequently charged him with money laundering “and this is where we are today”.
Also taking the witness stand today were Sharon Williams and Harris Pounder.
Under examination by Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Alliston Seale who is appearing on behalf of the Crown along with Crown Counsel Kevin Forde, Williams, who worked as a sales representative at Pioneer Motors in 2009, told the court she sold Carrington a 2006 Nissan Sylphy for $57 000.
She said it was unusual for persons to buy cars cash and it was the first time she had seen someone do it.
The witness said while Carrington had initially wanted to purchase a Toyota, she was able to convince him to buy the Nissan as he wanted a car with “lots of room”.
She said Carrington took the money from a blue plastic bag and paid with just $100 notes.
Under cross-examination from defence counsel Ralph Thorne, Williams said she was 19 years old at the time and admitted she had only been working at Pioneer Motors for three months prior to her transaction with Carrington.
She described the Toyota which Carrington had enquired about as “middle end”.
Pounder, a claims manager at Equity Insurance Company Limited, testified that Carrington had previously insured a 1997 Mazda Lantis with that company. She said the car was insured third-party and was eventually written off. Pounder said Carrington received no money as a result of that accident.
The evidence of one other witness, John Gibbs was read into the court’s records by clerical officer Julia Boyce.
Immigration Officer Joseph Marshall was also called to give evidence in the case. He told the court that Gibbs had last visited Barbados on November 20, 2019, and had not returned since. According to him, the records showed that Gibbs, who was born in Barbados but had a Canadian passport, was residing in Burlington, Canada.
Seale told the court that under Section 25 of the Criminal Procedure Act, the court could allow Gibbs’ statement to be ruled admissible as he was currently out of the jurisdiction.
There was no objection by Thorne and his evidence was read in.
In Gibbs’ statement, he told police he knew Carrington through working with Neblett, whom he sub contracted to work with his company Rooftec Inc. He said Carrington was never employed by Rooftec Inc.
