A 36-year-old man of Charity, Essequibo Coast was yesterday fined $30,000 and sentenced to three years in prison after he was found guilty of possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking.
The sentence was passed at the Charity Magistrate’s Court.
Cort Damon had made his first court appearance on June 30, 2015, where he had pleaded not guilty to the charge which stated that on June 29, 2015, a quantity of leaves, seeds and stems suspected to be cannabis was found in his market stall at Charity Backstreet. The cannabis when weighed amounted to 35 grammes.
He was remanded to prison and a trial was conducted into the matter, prosecuted by Haimwant Ramsewak.
Initially, Damon and his reputed wife Clarenda Evans were jointly charged but she was acquitted by Magistrate Scarce. After reviewing the facts of the case, Magistrate Scarce said he was convinced beyond reasonable doubt that the cannabis found did not belong to Evans, citing that she had denied knowledge of it in the first instance and according to the police witnesses, after being caught, Damon had reportedly said the drugs belonged to him.
Damon was found guilty and a fine of $30,000 was imposed along with three years’ imprisonment.
