A La Penitence man was yesterday placed on $50,000 bail after pleading not guilty to a narcotics charge.
Joel Halley, 23, was accused of having in his possession 12 grammes of cannabis on February 3.
Halley made an appearance in the city courtroom of Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry, where he was granted bail after no objections were raised by Prosecutor Michael Grant.
According to the police’s reports, on February 3, at about 14:00 hrs, a party of police ranks from the Narcotics Branch of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) went to the defendant’s home to search for suspected narcotics. On arrival at the man’s 113 Hunter Street, La Penitence home, the door was already open and a rank observed a container on a bed. The defendant and two other men were sitting. The container was opened in Halley’s presence and several packs of Ziploc bags, containing leaves, seeds and stems suspected to be cannabis, were revealed. Halley was shown the contents and cautioned and he allegedly told the police officers that he would normally “hustle to make a living”. He was arrested and subsequent investigations led to his present charge.
After being granted bail, the man’s matter was transferred to court 5 for reports and fixtures. Maintaining his not guilty plea before Magistrate Fabayo Azore, the vendor was set another court date of February 20.
