Man pleads with Magistrate to send him to rehab centre

Admitting that he has been abusing cocaine since age 15, Prospect resident Ricky George is willing and ready to kick his habit.{{more}}

After pleading guilty to possession of one gram of cocaine on Monday at the Serious Offences Court, George, 45, told the court that he has been using Cocaine for over 30 years.

“I started very young and it didn’t start on the streets, my worship. It started at home,” George disclosed.

Chief Magistrate Young said she was minded to send George to prison for his actions. However, George said he did not want to go to prison and asked if something else could be done to help him.

“I want to stop, but I don’t want to go to jail. I want to go to a rehab (rehabilitation) centre instead,” he pleaded.

George also told the court that he was thrown out of his home and has been living in an abandoned building in Prospect.

Chief Magistrate Young asked prosecutor Adolphus Delpesche to see if any arrangements could be made for him to get help.

He was remanded in custody until Wednesday, February 23, for an update.

Speaking on George’s behalf when he returned to court on Wednesday, lawyer Ronald Marks told the Chief Magistrate that George’s family was unwilling to take on the responsibility of seeking help for him since they and George do not get along.

Marks noted that George’s situation is one in which he grew up in a household that abused cocaine.

“I will personally see that he has some form of employment, your worship,” Marks said.

The lawyer also told the court that he plans to speak with the owners of the abandoned house in which George lives, so that he can continue staying there.

However, Young said the matter was not if he will be provided with employment, but rather, if he receives counselling.

Inspector Adlophus Delpesche, prosecutor at the court, told Young that he had contacted personnel at Marion House who have offered to help George.

“I think you had the relapse because you weren’t getting that kind of support and assistance,” Young said.

For his crime, Young placed George on a $6,000 bond with one surety and was ordered to attend counselling sessions at Marion House.

In breach of these conditions, George will go to prison for three months.(KW)