A John Fernandes employee, caught with $7,500 worth of cannabis, was yesterday sentenced to three years in prison by a city court.
Errol Williams, of South Sophia, pleaded guilty to a charge stating that on March 5th, at Albouystown, he had 15 grammes of cannabis in his possession for the purpose of trafficking. Fifteen grammes is the minimum weight requirement for a trafficking charge, for which there is a minimum three-year sentence.
Prosecutor Deniro Jones told the court that Williams was arrested in relation to an allegation of simple larceny and when police carried out a search on his person, discovered that the haversack he was carrying contained cannabis.
Williams had, however, told Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan that the narcotics were not his, but that he had borrowed the bag to carry his work clothes home. When the magistrate attempted to enter a not guilty plea on his behalf based on his explanation, the defendant insisted that he wanted to plead guilty. This was even after being told of the penalty for the crime.
Williams was fined $30,000 along with the prison sentence.
