After admitting he had camouflage clothing and also possessed cannabis, a labourer was given the opportunity to join the Drug Treatment Court.
Jalani Akil Lewis, who was represented by Mohia Ma’at, was charged with the offence on Tuesday.
Prosecutor Sergeant Rudy Pilgrim informed the District “A” Magistrates’ Court that officers from the Suppressing Criminal Activity Threatening Society (SCATS) unit were on patrol on Broad Street when they saw the 24-year-old wearing a camouflage hat. Officers told him to remove the illegal hat, which he placed in his bag.
Twenty minutes later the officers encountered Lewis again wearing the same hat. He was told of the offence, and when asked, he refused to give his name and address to the officers. He was arrested, and a search of his back pack revealed a blue plastic bag containing vegetable matter suspected to be cannabis.
When asked to account for the drugs, which weighed 9.96 grammes and had an estimated value of $50, he told the police: “I buy that with my money. Wunna always bullying people.”
Ma’at argued that the facts seemed to “outline a set of nonsense”, and asked for the matter to be transferred to the Drug Court for consideration.
After hearing from the guilty man’s mother that he was very helpful, Magistrate Douglas Frederick transferred the matter for consideration.
“The police told you not to wear camouflage because it is illegal. All you had to do was comply. You look intelligent, but the drugs were in your head. You will be in the Drug Treatment Court once accepted,” he told Lewis.
He was released on $2 500 bail, and returns to court on Monday. (RA)
