Man fined $600 for cannabis possession

Less than a week after one jailbird flew free, he nearly found himself behind bars again.

Rico Anderson, 32 years of age, was brought before the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court on February 6, pleading guilty to a charge of having in his possession 371g of marijuana, with intent to supply.

Anderson had been apprehended in the vicinity of the Kingstown Vegetable Market with a white plastic bag, after he ran away from three police officers. The officers caught up with him and searched the white bag, wherein they found six packages containing what appeared to be cannabis.

“You have a record here, a total of 24 previous convictions, dating back to ‘97 and as recent as 2016,” senior magistrate Rickie Burnett began, saying, “a young man like you”.

Anderson told the magistrate that that was in the past.

He had come out of prison the previous Friday, he said, and had looked for a job that day, and had been working. He worked on Saturday and Sunday, but on the day in question, he decided to see his brother, who worked at Cell World. He said his brother told him to drop off the bag for him, but didn’t say what was in the bag.

He said after he went to sit down by the market, he started smelling weed and so while rummaging through the bag, he discovered the drug and at the same time, three officers came around. He said he had to run.

The magistrate noted that he had come out of prison last week after spending 18 months there, but Anderson asked that he be given a fine to pay.

Burnett stated that he was minded to impose a fine of $600 on Anderson, to be paid by March 29, in default he would spend three months in prison.(KR)