Cruise ship visitors reprimanded

Two cruise ship passengers were reprimanded and discharged on Thursday, when they appeared before Magistrate Manila Renee on charges related to “very small” amounts of cocaine, cannabis and methamphetamine.

The Americans, answered the charges in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court.

Mikel Eric Gerle, a 69-year-old retiree from Los Angeles, California, pleaded guilty to all eight charges in connection with the possession, possession with intent to supply, trafficking, and importation of methamphetamine valued at $140 (1.4 grammes), cannabis worth $70 (7 grammes), and cocaine valued at $70 (1.4 grammes).

David Martin Aldea, a 58-year-old technician consultant from New York, also admitted to six similar charges.

Magistrate Renee upheld the mitigation of Gerle’s attorney, Michael Lashley KC, that his client should be discharged without a conviction recorded against him on the grounds of his upfront guilty pleas, which avoided wasting the court’s time, the small amounts of drugs, and the fact that he had no prior record in Barbados.

Renee said she was reluctantly agreeing but did so due to the small amounts of drugs and the fact that the visitors were passing through the country.

However, the magistrate warned Gerleand Aldea that they needed to respect the laws of Barbados and that if they returned to the island and were convicted on similar charges, they would face harsher penalties.

Aldea’s attorney, Ensley Grainger, did not have to make any mitigation speech, as Magistrate Renee had ruled that his client would be treated in the same manner as Gerle, given that the facts were similar.