Dominica man fined EC$4,000 over 210 g of ganja found on his scooter
Curvel St. Rose, 32, of Bath Estate and Massacre pleaded guilty in Dominica on 14 May 2012 to possessing 210 grams of cannabis and possessing it with intent to supply after police found the drug in a bag on his scooter at Canefield. Chief Magistrate Evalina Baptiste fined him EC$4,000 and gave him until 30 October 2012 to pay, with 13 months in jail if he did not.
A 32-year-old man from Bath Estate and Massacre was given until 30 October 2012
to pay two separate drug fines totalling EC$4,000 or face 13 months in jail.[1]Curvel St. Rose appeared before Chief Magistrate Evalina Baptiste on 14 May
2012 and pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis and possession with intent to
supply 210 grams.[1]
On 12 May 2012 at about 10:45pm, officers of the Task Force on patrol near the
Minya’s 7-11 supermarket in Canefield saw him parking a scooter and looking
suspicious.[1]He denied having drugs and a search of his person found
nothing, but a search of the scooter found a clear plastic bag with 210 grams of
cannabis that police valued at EC$500.[1]He was arrested and charged, and
told police the drug had been given to him by a man he had done a mechanical job
for.[1]
He repeated the account in court, and the magistrate told him she did not
believe his story.[1]Baptiste told him he took drugs in place of payment for
his mechanical work, and said young people selling the drug were supplying
schoolboys who took it from the age of 10.[1]She fined him EC$1,000 for
possession of cannabis, payable by 30 October 2012 or six months in jail, and
EC$3,000 for possession with intent to supply.[1]
The account of the sentencing was carried the same day by Online News From
Dominica, which reprints Dominica News Online articles.[2]
Photos and video
Picture published with the report, captioned 'ganja 3'; it is not captioned as showing the 210 grams seized in Canefield.Photo details
Only one original account of the case was published; Online News From Dominica reprints the Dominica News Online text and adds no independent reporting.
The article does not name the court, though the Chief Magistrate heard the case; Roseau Magistrate's Court is assumed.
No separate default jail term is given for the EC$3,000 fine on the supply charge; only the combined 13 months in default is stated.
It is not reported whether the EC$4,000 was paid by the 30 October 2012 deadline.
The picture published with the report is captioned only 'ganja 3' and is not identified as the cannabis seized in this case.
Jordan Marshall, 29, of The Morne, St. Joseph, Dominica pleaded guilty to cultivating 1,352 cannabis plants found in an indoor nursery at his home and was fined $7,500. His brothers Shanly and Linson, arrested with him in the 10 February 2022 raid, pleaded not guilty and had their cases dismissed.
A 49-year-old man from Mahaut pleaded guilty to possessing and cultivating one cannabis tree that Mahaut police found growing in a white pail in his yard. Chief Magistrate Evalina Baptiste fined him EC$2,200 for cultivation and EC$800 on the other count, payable by 21 October 2012, with a seven-month jail term if he defaulted.
Betham Valmond of Sineku was sentenced to two months in prison in Dominica after pleading guilty to possessing 155 grams of marijuana with intent to supply. Police on patrol at Mahaut River in the Carib Territory said they saw him offering weed to people in a yard from a backpack.
Webster Edmund, 37, of Layou was sentenced at the St. Joseph court on 7 April 2011 to two years and five weeks in jail after pleading guilty to possessing 67 grams of marijuana with intent to supply, possessing a firearm and possessing ammunition. He was later sentenced separately to eight years and nine months for kidnapping and sexual offences.