Clayton Johnson, the prison officer who was charged less than two months ago after he was allegedly found with a quantity of cannabis and cigarettes at the Camp Street Prison, had two matters against him dismissed yesterday.
The allegation against Johnson of Lot 94 Herstelling, East Bank Demerara is that on March 17, at the Camp Street Prison, Georgetown, Johnson had 22 grammes of cannabis in his possession for the purpose of trafficking. He is also accused of trying to take 16 packs of cigarettes into the prison on the same day.
He had first appeared before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry where he denied the charges and was remanded to prison. The case was then transferred to Magistrate Judy Latchman’s court for trial.
The facts of the matter are that on March 17 at 9.20 am, he reported for duty and was performing his normal functions when two other prison officers arrived, told him of certain information they received and asked to conduct a search. The suspected cannabis was allegedly found in Johnson’s pants crotch, while the packs of cigarettes were reportedly found on other parts of his body
While handing down the ruling and taking into consideration all the evidence given, the magistrate said that she wasn’t sure that the drug tendered was indeed found on Johnson’s person and the matter was subsequently dismissed due to insufficient evidence.
The trial commenced and ended yesterday and saw a total of four witnesses testifying, three of whom were prison officers.
