A St Joseph father today said he was sorry for his action on the day he choked his ex-girlfriend and mother of his 11-year-old son.

Ryan O’neal Wood told the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court presided over by Acting Magistrate Anika Jackson: “I am sorry for my action on that day.  My intention that day was on my son and I was acting in the best interest of my son. I never went with the intention of taking action on her.”

In his mitigation plea, he said that there was an agreement that his son would stay at his mother on weekdays and spend the weekends with him, but the boy’s grades started to drop and he wanted to change the agreement.

When the matter opened on Monday, the 39-year-old painter of Braggs Hill, St Joseph pleaded guilty to assaulting Simone Gittens of Jackson Terrace, Stage 2, St. Michael, occasioning her actual bodily harm on January, 6, 2019.

The court heard from prosecutor PC Kenmore Phillips that the 11-year-old did not pick up his step-sister from school, and when his father brought him home later in the evening and said he wanted to talk to her (mother) there was an altercation between the two adults that led to the choking incident.

The matter was adjourned until Wednesday to hear the complainant’s side, and she said among other things that Wood had slapped her in the face and choked her. When the matter resumed Wood had attorney-at-law, Shamar Bovell as his counsel and the attorney sought to have the guilty plea vacated but the application was turned down by the Acting Magistrate who adjourned the matter until today for the medical report.

When the case resumed, Wood said the attorney was no longer representing him.

According to the medical report, there was soft tissue injury to the face and a degree of mild force was used on the neck.

Wood said he accepted the evidence of the medical report.

While noting that it was admirable that Wood had an interest in his son, the Acting Magistrate told him that his action was not lawful nor responsible.

She, therefore, sentenced him to a bond of 12 months to keep the peace and if he defaults, he must pay $750 forthwith or spend three months in jail. Additionally, there was a compensation order of $500 to be paid in one week.

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A 52-year-old St Peter man will spend the next 12 months in jail, after pleading guilty to stealing perfume and sunglasses from Cave Shepherd.

When Dale Archibald Stanford of Four Hill recently appeared in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court before Acting Magistrate Anika Jackson, he pleaded guilty to the following charges: On January 14, 2019, he stole a pair of sunglasses valued at $433.99 belonging to Duty Free Holdings trading as Cave Shepherd and Co. Ltd.; on January, 11, 2019, he stole a bottle of perfume valued at $238 belonging to the same company and on September 22, 2018, he stole a bottle of perfume valued $259 from the same establishment.

According to the facts outlined by prosecutor Kenmore Phillips, on two occasions the unemployed man was observed by closed-circuit security in the perfume section of the store as he took up the items, placed them in a plastic bag he was carrying and left the store without paying for them. However, a few days later on January 14, he was observed entering the store. He went to the area where sunglasses are displayed, took up a pair and by-passed the cashier and was challenged by security personnel and apprehended.

The Court noted that Stanford had previously committed other similar offences.

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An increase in the number of judges and additional resources for the Department of Public Prosecutions (DPP) are just some of the initiatives on the cards to assist with the growing incidents of crime across Barbados.

Attorney General, Dale Marshall, today took issue with the fact that Barbados had in some cases as many as 1,000 matters on indictment waiting to be heard in the High Court, some of which date back to a decade.

“If the criminal element feel they could do as they please and appear before the court and get bail and the next thing they hear about the case is five years from now, they would feel they could do what they feel like in our society. They say justice has to be swift [and] the end of that justice is the court system,” he stated.

He was at the time addressing members of the media at Police Headquarters before going on tour of “hot spots” in Bridgetown, accompanied by the High Command of the Royal Barbados Police Force and the Barbados Defence Force. He was also joined by Minister of Maritime Affairs and the Blue Economy, Kirk Humphrey.

Marshall said that a number of changes will be happening with the judiciary over the coming weeks, while the DPP’s office will be getting additional resources as Government moves to bring about efficiencies in a number of areas.

He disclosed that two new court rooms were installed at the Supreme Court Complex on Whitepark Road, St. Michael, to accommodate two new criminal judges. In addition, the Attorney General also disclosed that he was taking other initiatives to Parliament soon to increase the size of the judiciary.

“The Prime Minister has agreed to give us more judges. There are a number of things we can do. The burden is not only on the police. The police will do with the investigation and the arrest, but the judiciary also has to do its work. If [a person is] convicted, prison has to do its work as that is a place of punishment and rehabilitation, but the communities also have to do their work,” he maintained.

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A man who was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being found guilty of manslaughter six years ago, today told the Court of Appeal he believed his sentence was excessive.

In fact, Edward Fitzpatrick Bailey told judges Chief Justice Sir Marston Gibson and Justices Kaye Goodridge and Margaret Reifer that ten years in prison would have been a suitable punishment.

That was one of the 23 grounds under which Bailey, whose last address is Cane Vale New Road, Christ Church, argued saying that Madam Justice Maureen Crane-Scott had erred in law during his trial and sentencing.

Bailey was 42 years old at the time when he was charged with murdering 24-year-old Ricardo Small, formerly of Kendal Hill, Christ Church, on January 15, 2009.

The facts revealed that Bailey walked up to a route taxi in which Small was a front seat passenger while it was in Gall Hill, Christ Church and fatally shot him, sending persons scampering.

A 12-member jury found him not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter on May 24, 2013 and he was subsequently sentenced by Justice Crane-Scott.

Bailey began his appeal on November 21, 2018 and he reappeared before the three-member panel today in the Appeals Court.

Clad in a white shirt, black tie and black pants, the convicted man argued that Justice Crane-Scott had made several errors during the trial which adversely affected him.

He accused the judge of “entering into the arena” by certain comments and rulings and that she also obstructed him during his cross-examination. According to him, the judge had also erred in law by deflecting questions and assisting the Crown’s witnesses.

He said Justice Crane-Scott had failed to exercise her discretion by withdrawing the case from the jury after hearing evidence which was prejudicial to him.

Additionally, Bailey told the Court of Appeal that the trial judge had failed to adequately put his defence to the jury; had failed to analyze the evidence of a witness and that she had failed to direct the jury in relation to oral statements.

He also pointed out that Justice Crane-Scott incorrectly dismissed his no-case submission, despite glaring inconsistencies in the Crown’s case. Bailey maintained that the evidence given by the Crown’s two key witnesses had not been reliable saying the prosecutor’s case collapsed because of “indescrepencies” in the evidence.

“It is not that I did not commit an offence, but not the offence for which I was convicted,” Bailey said.

As it related to his sentencing, Bailey charged that the trial judge had not taken all of the mitigating factors into consideration before handing down her ruling.

He said she has “missed” several of those factors including the fact he had acted in self defense, that the now deceased man had a propensity for violence and that he Bailey, had received an “excellent” probation report.

Bailey said the trial judge had ruled that a starting point of between 18 to 22 years was adequate.

“The sentence is excessive…I believe that the judge should have started with at least ten years,” he said.

However, he was quickly reminded by Justice Goodridge and Sir Marston that a firearm had been used and that he had shot the deceased in a crowded public service vehicle in broad daylight, which they said were notable aggravating factors.

Principal Crown Counsel Alliston Seale will respond to Bailey when the appeal continues on March 13, 2019.

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There is a law against posting some things on social media and a young husband found that out today, when he admitted accidentally posting nude pictures of his spouse.

Jamar Thomas, 33, of Bartlett’sTenantry, Sargeant’s Village, Christ Church, pleaded guilty to the following charge, that on December 25, 2018, he used a cellular phone to send a message that was indecent or obscene and he intended to cause or was reckless as to whether he caused annoyance, inconvenience or distress to his wife, Alika Thomas.

Prosecutor PC Kenmore Phillips, in outlining the matter to the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court presided over by acting Magistrate Anika Jackson, said that the couple had been married for four years, and on Christmas Day last year, they had an argument about Thomas taking up his wife’s phone and reading the messages.

According to the prosecutor, Thomas discovered her carrying on a conversation with a male and nude photos of herself were placed on WhatsApp. His wife reported the matter to the police and Thomas turned himself in on January 19.

Thomas said that prior to the incident, he had phoned his sister and complained that he was doing all the work and his wife got angry, started to shout and took up his tablet and told him “What is yours is mine and what is mine is yours.”

In turn, he said he took up his wife’s phone and said “What is yours is mine and what is mine is yours.”

Among other things, Thomas saw some stuff on his wife’s phone including nude videos with his son in the background and he was upset.

He said he meant to show them to a woman who counsels them, his head was hot and he sent them on WhatsApp and he later tried to take them down but was not successful.

Thomas said he was sorry that it was on social media.

The acting magistrate told Thomas “I have taken into account your early plea of guilty at the first opportunity and you have not wasted the court’s time.”

With a warning to “walk the straight and narrow way”, the acting magistrate imposed a fine of $1,500 which must be paid by May 24, or he will spend six months in prison. She noted that Thomas’ reputation would now be tarnished at age 33.

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Although there’s talk about medical marijuana in Barbados, this drug is still illegal in this country.

This reminder came today from acting Magistrate in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court Anika Jackson, after 20-year-old, Daniel Antonio Shaquan Stoute, of Lightfoot Lane, St Michael,  pleaded guilty to having $22 worth in cannabis on January 20.

The acting Magistrate pointed out “In Barbados, cannabis is still an illegal drug, despite discussion about medical marijuana.”

In outlining the matter to the court, prosecutor Sergeant Carrison Henry said that police were carrying out investigations into another matter and while going through Greenfield, St Michael saw Stoute.

Among other things, the prosecutor said that while conducting a search of the young man, they found 12 greaseproof wrappings containing vegetable matter suspected to be cannabis, in a bag in his pocket, and when asked about it, he told them, “Dis is my weed, I had it to smoke.”

He was fined $750 in two months or he will spend two months in jail.

Stoute also pleaded not guilty to another charge, that on January 19, 2019, he unlawfully assaulted Tarique Charles of King William Street, St. Michael. That matter was adjourned until May 13, 2019 and bail was granted in the sum of $750.

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A Christ Church woman readily admitted damaging a car and threw herself at the mercy of the court.

Sharon Yvette Harris, 47, of Bartlett’s Tenantry, Sargeant’s Village, today pleaded guilty to damaging a car belonging to Anas Vanzario of Brighton, Black Rock, St Michael, on Errol Barrow Day 2019.

Acting Magistrate Anika Jackson, after hearing evidence in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court, ordered a three month sentence which was suspended for a year. In addition, she imposed a $2,500 fine which must be paid in three months or Harris will spend three months in prison.

Prosecutor PC Kenmore Phillips, in outlining the matter, said that Vanzario lent his vehicle to Harris’ “significant other” and on the day of the incident he and Harris were in the vehicle on Golf Club Road, Christ Church, when she took a knife from the car and attempted to stab her friend. He got out of the car, and Harris took a hammer which was also in the car and swung at him and it struck the car window in the front passenger area and shattered it.  She took another swing at her friend and shattered another window. Her friend went to the police who later picked Harris up at the scene.

When asked if she had anything to say, the accused said “There was no knife involved in the argument ,” adding that her friend had a hammer and when it dropped, she picked it up and swiped at him and the hammer struck the vehicle.

Harris told the court “I was swiping at him, I damaged the car. I will pay for it. I remained until the police came. They asked me if I did it and I admitted it.”

The acting Magistrate asked her if she realised the seriousness of the matter, noting that if the hammer did not strike the car, it would have struck her friend and Harris said she understood.

Before handing down sentence, the acting magistrate noted that Harris had not been before the court in ten years and said: “I have taken into consideration your early plea of guilty. You have been contrite and you mitigated that you understand the seriousness of the matter.”

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“Ma’am I feel responsible. It will never happen again. I am very sorry it happened.”

These were the words of 28-year-old Andre Xavier Leacock, of Combermere Street, St. Michael, who pleaded guilty to having $15 worth of cannabis on January 20, 2019.

Prosecutor, PC Kenmore Phillips told the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court that the police were along Dalkeith Road and stopped the car which Leacock was driving and found the drug under the floor on the driver’s side.

Acting Magistrate Anika Jackson noted his early guilty plea and fined him $750 in a day or one month in jail.

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At 27, Jeff Confield Washington has been deemed medically unfit and is therefore unable to work.

As a result, he has an unpaid fine of $555 which carries with it an alternative of 55 days in jail which was ordered by Magistrate Graveney Bannister in January last year.

When Washington, of Lewis Gap, Green Hill, St Michael, appeared before acting Magistrate Anika Jackson today in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court, he pleaded guilty to assaulting his wife, Shauntelle Waithe, occasioning her actual bodily harm on November 16, 2018.

According to Prosecutor, PC Kenmore Phillips, on the day of the incident, the couple was in the Cheapside Terminal and during a struggle, Washington struck his wife in her belly. She was seven months pregnant. She said she felt light-headed and then started to vomit.

The prosecutor said she was taken to the Branford Taitt Polyclinic, Black Rock, St Michael, where she was treated and discharged and the matter reported to the police.

According to the prosecutor, on January 22, 2019, Washington was taken to the police station where he was charged. Washington however told the court that when he heard the police wanted him, he went to the police station.

It was at this point the accused informed the court that he had not taken his medication and the acting Magistrate allowed him to sit.

She then looked at the antecedents on his card noting that he had committed similar offences and had even threatened a member of the judiciary. Washington admitted that it was the magistrate who had ordered the fine which remained unpaid.

He said he had a head injury which caused him to be hospitalized. He explained to the court that he is supported by his brother and wife and he could not ask his brother to pay the fine.

The acting magistrate said she was bound by that sentence of 55 days and sentenced him to three months in jail for the incident with his wife to run concurrent with the 55 days for not paying the earlier fine.

The post Guilty plea appeared first on Barbados Today.

It’s time to revert to the situation where a complainant should be asked to pay costs after coming to court and saying he or she was no longer going through with the matter.

Acting Magistrate Anika Jackson presiding in the District ‘A Magistrates’ Court made the comment today after complainant Shaquille Smith said she was no longer going through with the case involving Kadeem Rashad Scantlebury.

Pointing out that she was not casting aspersions at those in the matter before her, she added “I feel we should go back to those times, because it’s not only wasting the police time and the court’s time, but also it’s costing taxpayers money,” the acting Magistrate noted.

She then dismissed the matter.

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Murder accused Anderson Jerome Calderon was remanded to Dodds when he appeared in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court earlier today charged with the shooting death of the Ronald Rudder, of 1st Avenue, Gills Gap, Eagle Hall, St Michael.

The 32-year-old Calderon, of Block 2E North Close Wildey, St Michael is accused of killing Rudder on January 11, 2019.

He was not required to plea to the indictable charge when he appeared before Acting Magistrate Anika Jackson this morning.

Calderon is represented by attorneys-at-law Naomi Lynton and Neville Reid.

The accused will make his next court appearance on February 21.

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With his plaited hair initially rolled up and then in flowing dreadlocks, Steve Carlton Skeete admitted to being a Rastafarian and said he did not have a problem with drugs nor did he need help.

“I don't rob, I don't steal, I have it for my personal use,” he told Acting Magistrate Anika Jackson in the District 'A' Magistrates’ Court where he was facing three drug-related charges.

Skeete, a 46-year-old farmer of Griffith's Land, Black Rock, St Michael, initially pleaded guilty to unlawful  possession of cannabis and not guilty to trafficking and intending to supply, all on January 23, 2019.

However, attorney-at-law Harry Husbands appeared as a friend of the court and spoke to Skeete who changed his “not guilty” pleas.

According to Prosecutor, PC Kenmore Phillips, lawmen executed a search warrant at Skeete's home and found nothing inside the house, however with the assistance of the Canine Unit, a bag containing vegetable matter suspected to be cannabis was retrieved from the cellar. Skeete admitted knowledge and ownership of the approximately 69 grams with an estimated value of $345.

The acting Magistrate noted that Skeete's conviction card started in 1996 for a similar offence.

He told the court “Ma'am, I apologize for my actions. I take full responsibility.”

On the first count of possession, Skeete was fined $750 in three months, or on default, spend three months in prison.  On the other two charges, he was convicted, reprimanded and discharged.

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Convicted murderer Carlton Junior Hall has had his appeal against his conviction dismissed.

The Appeal Court comprised of Justices Kay Goodridge, Margaret Reifer and William Chandler, upheld the decision of a 12-member jury, who had found a then 25-year old Hall guilty of murdering Adrian Wilkinson on March 2, 2016.

Wilkson died on the spot at Speightstown, St Peter on Sunday, August 14, 2011, after being gunned down.

Hall was sentenced to hang by trial judge Justice Jacqueline Cornelius.

But Hall, whose last address was given as 2nd Avenue, Chapman Lane, St Michael, through his attorney Queen’s Counsel Andrew Pilgrim had appealed the conviction.

The appeal was in relation to identification, as per section 102 of Evidence Act in what amounts to special circumstances, due to the fact that the Crown’s case relied on identification evidence.

In a 31-page judgment handed down and delivered by Reifer yesterday, the court ruled that the evidence produced by the Crown was of such a standard as to constitute special circumstances, within the meaning of Section 102 2A of the Evidence Act and was properly placed before the jury who was adequately warned.

The court also ruled that the trial judge had correctly overruled a no-case submission.

However, because of a ruling made by Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) that the imposition of a mandatory death penalty is unconstitutional, the court ordered that Hall be returned to the trial judge to be resentenced at the earliest opportunity.

Acting Deputy Director of Prosecution Anthony Blackman and Crown Counsel Oliver Thomas appeared on behalf of the Crown.

The post Murderer loses his appeal appeared first on Barbados Today.

Vowing to “go out there and work”, a 56-year-old St Michael farmer admitted to having drugs and told a Bridgetown  Magistrate today: “I will try to do better.”

Julius Alexander Edwards of Chapel Gap, Spooners Hill, St Michael, pleaded guilty to four drug charges when he appeared in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court before Acting Magistrate, Anika Jackson.

The charges are that on January 23, 2019, he had cannabis; trafficked in it; intended to supply it and unlawfully cultivated it.

According to the facts outlined by Prosecutor PC Kenmore Phillips, armed with a search warrant, lawmen went to Edwards’ home and found a number of plants suspected to be cannabis on a mattress, some on a line drying and others in two enclosed areas in the yard.

He admitted ownership.

When the acting magistrate examined Edwards’ conviction card, she observed that his first offence of illegal possession of cannabis was in 1985 and others that were not similar.

Stating that his last offence was more than 30 years ago, she noted that the present ones were serious, adding that there were 139 plants weighing about 400 grams with an estimated street value of $2,000.

For possession, Edwards was convicted, reprimanded and discharged and for trafficking and supplying he was reprimanded and discharged.

However, for cultivating, he was fined $3,500 in four months or four months in prison.

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For the third time in as many hearings a Barbadian man fighting an extradition attempt by Canada had his matter adjourned.

When 64-year-old Errol Vivian Jones, of Bridgefield, St Thomas appeared before Chief Magistrate Christopher Birch in the District ‘C’ Magistrates’ Court today, the matter was adjourned until March 7, 2019.

Prosecutor Station Sergeant Rudolph Burnett did not object to bail, meaning Jones will remain on $15 000 bail.

Canadian authorities are seeking to have Jones extradited to finish serving the remaining 889 days of a sentence for breaching the conditions of his parole.

However, Jones is contending that he was deported from Canada and is questioning how a warrant of arrest could be issued for him when at the same time he was in the custody of Immigration officers and being escorted from the country.

The post Extradition hearing adjourned appeared first on Barbados Today.

A St. Michael woman will do 100 hours of community service having pleaded guilty to stealing $62 worth of items on January 21, 2019.

She is Kim Howard of Bank Hall Main Road, who will return to court on April 26, 2019.

Prosecutor, Sergeant Carrison Henry told the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court, presided over by acting Magistrate Anika Jackson, that on the day of the incident, Howard entered Paradise Beauty Supply and was observed by security placing items including deodorant, bath and body spray in her bag, and paying for some. As she was about to leave the store, security approached her and told of their observations and when her bag was searched, items were found that had not been paid for.

Her counsel, attorney-at-law, Samuel Legay begged the court to be lenient, noting it was the first time she had come before the court.

The post Bank Hall woman caught shoplifting appeared first on Barbados Today.

Marijuana is legal in some countries, but not Barbados.

This reminder was given by Acting Magistrate Anika Jackson, presiding in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court.

She made the remarks after 38-year-old Dwayne Hallam Volney of 3rd Avenue Long Gap, Spooners Hill, St Michael had pleaded guilty to having 2.05 grams of the drug worth $10 on January 24, 2019.

Prosecutor, PC Kenmore Philips told the court that on the day of the incident, police were stopping and searching vehicles on John Beckles Drive, St Michael.

They stopped the car in which Volney was a passenger.  The car was searched and nothing was  found, but when Volney was searched police found a quantity of vegetable matter suspected to be cannabis in one of his pants’ pockets and he admitted ownership.

In his defence, Volney said he had forgotten the drug in his pocket and apologised to the court and “all of Barbados”.

The acting magistrate noted that according to Volney’s conviction card, he had a similar offence in 2014.

She therefore fined the contrite man $350 payable by Monday by 2:30 pm. Failing that he will spend three months in prison.

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The man who admitted to stealing a seven-dollar toenail clip from Massy has now been granted bail. Farley Nigel Smith, 62 spent his last night at Her Majesty’s Prison, Dodds, St. Michael, yesterday, after starting a 12-month sentence earlier in the month for the clip.

Queen’s Counsel Andrew Pilgrim appealed the sentence describing it as “excessive” and the matter is expected to be heard later.

On January 16, Smith, of Hothersal Turning St Michael, pleaded guilty to stealing the item from Massy the previous day. When he re-appeared before acting Magistrate Anika Jackson in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court, she granted him bail in the sum of $500 and a surety.

Additionally, Smith had an outstanding matter from 2015 in which he was accused of intending to defraud First Caribbean Bank of $7,952.21 on February, 20 and four days later he was further charged with attempting to steal that amount from the bank.

A warrant was also issued for Smith on August 14, 2018 for his failure to attend court having been granted bail.

Pilgrim, in making an application for bail, noted that the four-year-old matter had not started and there was no injury to anyone. As a result, the acting magistrate recalled the warrant and adjourned the matter until May 29.

Moments before having this matter adjourned, Smith had appeared before Magistrate Douglas Frederick in another court, accused of stealing a battery worth $300, sometime between September 1 and 6, 2018.

Magistrate Frederick granted him bail in the sum of $3,000 and adjourned the matter until February 21, 2019.

The post Toenail clip thief out on bail after appeal appeared first on Barbados Today.

A Bridgetown magistrate yesterday warned a young man that he was going down the wrong path, and urged him to “never let greed or success encourage you”.

Magistrate Graveney Bannister, presiding in the Traffic Court also told Chad Roosevelt Eljai Chase, “You have to be more responsible. This time you’re getting an opportunity to pull your socks up.”

 The 23-year-old shopkeeper of 137, 6th Avenue West Terrace, St James, had pleaded guilty to having cannabis on January 27, 2019, as well as various traffic offences including not being the holder of a driver’s licence; not having a driver’s licence; and failing to comply with traffic signs.

 According to prosecutor, PC Kevin Forde, police officers were on patrol on Tudor Street, Bridgetown, when they saw a motorcar with two male occupants approaching them and one of the occupants was Chase. He said when Chase was searched two quantities of vegetable matter suspected to be cannabis were found. The police officers also found out that Chase had no driver’s licence, no insurance and
the registration plates were not affixed correctly on the vehicle.

 Chase, who was represented by attorney-at-law Harry Husbands admitted that he never had a driver’s licence adding that he had a permit but missed the date last September.

His counsel, in urging the court to be lenient, said that Chase, a national footballer, was currently seeking to have that matter regularized.

The court also learnt that Chase, a recreational user of the drug, is the holder of seven CXC’s and is a graduate of the Barbados Communiuty College.

 The magistrate told him “You have a job that can expand to its full potential, why are you dabbling in drugs?”

Urging him to watch the company he keeps, the magistrate said,” Don’t put a damper on your life.”

Chase apologized to the court saying he was sorry.

The magistrate fined the first offender $1,000 for having no insurance or 100 days in jail and convicted, reprimanded and discharged (CRD) him on the other matters.

The post ‘Dabbling in drugs’ appeared first on Barbados Today.

It was a one-off situation which won’t happen again!

 So said 27-year-old Shaniko Bowen, of Clarke’s Road My Lord”s Hill, St Michael before Magistrate Graveney Bannister in the Traffic Court as he pleaded guilty to having cannabis and for not wearing a helmet, on January 27, 2019.

 Bowen said he was running late for work and asked a family member to give him a ride.

 According to prosecutor, Kevin Forde, when police officers were on patrol on Government Hill, St Michael, they saw Bowen, a pillion rider without a helmet. They stopped him and told him about it. When they searched him, they found 1.77 grams of vegetable matter suspected to be cannabis in the form of two rolled cigarettes in his pants pocket.

 Bowen said he was sorry.

 The magistrate told him since he said he didn’t have a drug problem, “Quit while you can and don’t let it go deeper.”

He was convicted, reprimanded and discharged.

 “Don’t let it happen again,” Magistrate Bannister
warned him.

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