A man told the court yesterday that he would be honest and so he would plead guilty to behaving disorderly but he was not guilty of having any illegal substance in his possession.
Quincy Roberts appeared before Magistrate Hazel Octave-Hamilton in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court yesterday and admitted to disorderly behaviour and was fined $20,000 or three weeks imprisonment.
However he denied the possession of cannabis charge and was remanded to prison after he failed to satisfy the court that he had a fixed place of abode.
It was alleged that Roberts on April 4 at Albouystown in a public place behaved disorderly and at the same time he had in his possession one gram of cannabis. These charges were read separately and he pleaded guilty to behaving disorderly but not guilty to the possession of cannabis.
Court prosecutor Simone Payne said that on the day in question at about 12:00 hrs police were in a mobile patrol near Hill Street, Albouystown when they saw the defendant riding at a fast rate.
The patrol vehicle stopped and pulled the defendant over and conducted a search of his person and recovered the narcotics.
The defendant then began to behave disorderly, shouting and using indecent language. He was arrested and taken to the Ruimveldt Police Station where he was subsequently charged.
The defendant, however, had a different story stating that he was on his way home to use the washroom and to collect his lunch when he stopped at a shop to purchase some items.
He said a police officer then entered the shop, purchased a drink and left. He said that as he was continuing his way home he was approached by a policeman who pushed him and that caused him to behave disorderly.
The magistrate was about to grant him bail when the question about his place of abode came up and he failed to give a definite response.
His mother then told the court what her address was but acknowledged that she did not know her son’s address.
The magistrate said that a person’s address and having a fixed place of abode was very important in a bail application.
On that note the prosecution objected to bail on the grounds that the defendant had no fixed place of abode.
Upon leaving the court he asked his mother why she didn’t vouch for him and she responded, “I’m fasting so I can’t lie”. He was led away in tears and his next court appearance is set for May 22 in Court One.
