Drug convicts get different sentences

Two men who were involved in trafficking 651 pounds of cannabis into the island almost five years ago received different sentences in Supreme Court No. 4.

Desmond Raphael Braveboy of Coles Close, Merricks, St Philip and Leibert Mcdonald Brathwaite of Hunte’s Street, Baxters Road, St Michael were charged with possession, trafficking, possession with intent to supply and importation of cannabis on November 25, 2018.

The drugs had been loaded onto the fishing vessel the two men were on.

Giving 53-year-old Braveboy a starting point of 14 years, Madam Justice Laurie-Ann Smith-Bovell outlined that his positive pre-sentence report, his willingness to give information to the Coast Guard and police about the investigation, that he had been unaware of the drug operation prior to the cannabis being loaded on the boat, and his recording of the incident on his cell phone to show the vessel’s owner what had happened, resulted in his mitigating factors outweighing the aggravating factors.

She therefore deducted three years when considering his time on remand and the one-third discount for his early guilty plea.

Smith-Bovell informed him that he had two years and 164 days left behind bars.

Fifty-three-year-old Brathwaite was given a starting point of 15 years which was raised to 16 years after the judge noted that he had prior knowledge of the incident, was an active participant, and had previous convictions.

Taking into account his time spent on remand and granting him a discount of a quarter as he had not pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity, Madam Justice Bovell-Smith sentenced him to seven years.