A couple accused of growing marijuana was yesterday sentenced to three years in jail after being found guilty of the offence following a trial at the Providence Magistrate’s Court.
Courtney Frank, 56, of Soesdyke, East Coast Demerara and Roxanne Rowe, 43, of South Rumiveldt were accused of cultivating the prohibited plants on February 19th, 2015. The matter was heard by Magistrate Leron Daly.
The couple was represented by Attorney-at-law Leslie Sobers while the State was represented by police prosecutor Inspector Michael Grant. The trial suffered a lengthy delay as the first magistrate who was presiding over the matter, left the bench and it was transferred to Magistrate Daly and had to be restarted.
During the trial, the prosecution called four witnesses and the defence called four.
According to the facts of the case, in February last year, police received information on the location of a number of illegal plants. According to the prosecution’s case, the police then went on an eradication exercise at Sodeskye. On arrival, they met the accused in a field that was measured to be approximately one acre. The field allegedly contained 6000 plants which were four feet in height. At the time of the discovery, the court was told, the couple was found nurturing the plants.
The defendants were cautioned by the police and taken into custody at the Timehri police station. Two of the plants were uprooted and taken as samples which following tests, were confirmed to be marijuana. The court was told that the farm was destroyed following the discovery.
